Links: Distribution Reviews, Sabayon Linux 5.3 “Extra Spins”, Fedora Community Web Site Design
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2010-07-22 08:20:47 UTC
- Modified: 2010-07-22 08:20:47 UTC
Summary: Distributions news accumulated in recent days
One or two of the five distros I mentioned yesterday had been labeled as “lightweight” either by their designers or the community around them, and I was probably pushing that definition just a little bit when I gave them the chance to run at 150Mhz on 32Mb of memory.
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Reviews
Unity Linux had their first release on 09/07/2010 after around 1.5 years of development. The project was created in 2009 by former developers from the PClinuxOS (hereafter abbreviated PCLOS) community. One of them was KDulcimer who at the time had his own project TinyMe based on PCLOS, which according to the website started in 2006. His distribution would in the future be based on Unity Linux. So much for how the two are intertwined.
[...]
I have to say I like this basic distribution and the philosophy behind, there is definitely a niche for it. The artwork is an inoffensive non-blinding white swirl on dark-blue background, good for my sensitive eyes, with a Mint leaf floating around giving a fresh impression, and for convenience sake you got 'halt' and 'logout' buttons on the desktop to access these functions. Mandrake/Mandriva has always been my favourite rpm based distribution and one of the first I used back in the 90's, and I'm glad to see it and its many innovations living on in so many forms. Mandriva is of course in ongoing financial troubles and after so many years of it I'm a bit pessimistic if that will change any time soon. So what will projects like Unity Linux do if Mandriva disappears?
For the moment at least they are still around, so let's enjoy this little spin-off if you don't have long term planning needs.
Unity also runs well in Virtualbox, with guest additions pre-installed. As you would imagine due to its size, it ran well with 384MB memory, but will probably be happy with less.
Unlike Microsoft Windows, Linux has a deserved reputation as a bullet-proof operating system. To teach computer security a University lecturer has deliberately produced the most damn vulnerable Linux you’ll ever see.
I didn't have many complaints when it came to Zenwalk's security. The install process sets a password for the administrator and allows the user to create additional, unprivileged accounts. I did have two concerns. While I was using the distro the repositories were populated with updates, but there didn't seem to be any notification for the user when security updates were available. I've been spoiled recently by systems which automatically check for me. My other concern is Zenwalk runs a secure shell service by default, which allows remote root logins. Preventing root from remotely logging into a machine is a policy I'd like to see more distributions adopt.
Lucid Puppy Linux 5.0 was released back in May of 2010, but as one of my favorite distros, I have been playing with it heavily since then. I have been so impressed with the new version that I wanted to take a moment and write a quick review of this release.
You can find the official release page here, along with download information.
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New Releases
Our crew, is happy to announce the immediate availability of XFCE, LXDE and SpinBase/OpenVZ Sabayon 5.3 “Spins” built on top of Sabayon “SpinBase” ISO images.
Under the “Extra Spins” umbrella, the Sabayon developers are going to experiment new Stable Releases with different package compositions.
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Red Hat Family
The open source remote access project will include 3D acceleration, network tunneling, and perhaps iPad, iPhone, and Android tablet support
Server maker Hewlett-Packard and commercial Linux juggernaut Red Hat have teamed up to help shops using Oracle's Sparc/Solaris platforms make the jump to Linux-based x64 iron.
While the two companies did not say so, the migrations services being offered today through HP Services are no doubt a reaction to Oracle's spiking of HP's Solaris OEM agreement last month. Under that agreement, HP was able to bundle Solaris on its ProLiant rack and blade servers and sell Solaris support contracts, much as it does for Microsoft's Windows, Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux.
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Fedora
When it was launched in late 2004 it was up against a number of distributions that had been in development for years: Red Hat, Fedora, Suse Linux and Mandriva (then still called Mandrake). These were well-developed distributions with their own fans and unique features. Ubuntu, based on Debian, had a solid base but had a long way to go to be as user-friendly as it planned.
Fast forward almost six years and Ubuntu has delivered. For many users it has been the perfect starting point for their Linux adventures. For others it offers the stability that they want from an operating system. It also has a huge fan-base and is the dominant voice in Linux marketing.
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Debian Family
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Canonical/Ubuntu
“Does Ubuntu have a firewall, and how do I turn it on?” is a popular question among new Ubuntu users. The answer is a bit complicated, but it’s an understandable inquiry for those migrating from the Windows world. WorksWithU addresses that question below by taking a look at Ubuntu’s firewall and some of the tools available for managing it.
In This Issue
* Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase calls all artists to contribute to next version of Ubuntu
* Operation Cleansweep: We Need You!
* Ubuntu Accessibility Team Personas Survey
* ISO testers for the Hall of Fame
* Ubuntu User Days Wrap-Up
* Ubuntu Stats
* Rocking The LoCo Council
* Ubuntu: a computer operating system built around community
* Ubuntu Chicago Bike Tour
* The Early-Summer LoCo BBQ at hutchnate's house was a tasty success!
* Ubuntu Honduras LoCo Team Wakes up
* Launchpad News
* Ahmed Kamal Joins the Horsemen
* Reviewers Team and Operation Cleansweep
* Ubuntu Manual Project core philosophy
* Man Your Browser
[...]
I’m an Ubuntu and FOSS kinda guy, I’m not happy with software that isn’t FOSS and I don’t find any sense in proprietisation of code. Having said that there are times when I must be a little more considered and not simply shun an entire site because it’s not foss.
Heaven known that deviantArt is one of the most proprietary, confused and messed up places I know. Bad copyright advice, no public domain option, admins that consistently ignore open formats like png and svg. FOSS Software isn’t promoted at all in any way. So why in Slartibartfast’s fjords would I want to hang my coat over there?
Well no matter what I do there _will_ be artists over there who use Ubuntu, people who may need help with wacom tablets, upgrades or finding help. There will be people who use Windows or Mac but don’t have FOSS tools yet or perhaps wouldn’t do better with Ubuntu instead. There are artists who’d love to get involved with the wider community but for what ever reason are disconnected by social chance.
Officially, Ubuntu does not come with built-in support for the GMA 500 drivers. We gave a workaround to this problem way back in Oct 2009 when the Ubuntu had just released Ubuntu 9.10. People expected Ubuntu to include these drivers in the Ubuntu 10.04 that never happened.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- [Meme] Being Believed, Not Censored or Defamed
- Daniel Pocock, Zini, and John Sullivan (FSF)
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- The Albanian open source community is very healthy indeed
- Windows nosedives from 99.1% to a lot less
- When I discovered people trafficking in open source software
- Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
- Web Sites Hijacked by WIPO on Behalf of Microsoft-Sponsored SPI (and People Looking to Hide Embarrassing Facts)
- debian.chat; debiancommunity.org; debian.day; debian.family; debian.finance; debian.giving; debiangnulinux.org; debian.guide; debian.news; debian.plus; debianproject.community; debianproject.org; debian.team; debian.video
- Julian Assange on Privacy of People, Even Little Children
- Facebook/Google (or GAFAM, an acronym I coined with Assange) knows you better than your mom knows you
- [Meme] Miscomprehension of GDPR
- Social control in general is a ticking timebomb
- In Haiti, the Market Share of Windows Collapsed (From 97% to 27% on Desktops/Laptops)
- A couple of months ago Windows was measured at 3.04%
- In Most Countries It's Still Possible Not to Have a 'Smartphone' and to Pay for Nearly Everything With Cash
- Withdrawing money will be possible as long as enough people use many ATMs (cash machines)
- Expect Lots of Material From Daniel Pocock as Election Day Nears
- The experiences of Daniel Pocock were an excellent example of reprisal or retribution against either whistleblowers or people who give a voice to whistleblowers
- I've Been Promoting Free Software for Over 25 Years
- I wrote my first computer program when I was about 14, maybe a little younger (I have visual memory of it)
- Reminder: Richard Stallman's Talk is This Week in Paris (and in French)
- Defending rms isn't the same as defending everything he has ever said
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 11, 2024
- IRC logs for Saturday, May 11, 2024
- Online Bullying (Trying to Make People Unhappy)
- Narcissists and bullies behind mice and keyboards, no honesty or fact-checking required
- Talk About Software Freedom
- "Linux" and "BSD" may mean a lot to more and more people, but they're still just brands or acronyms
- Windows in South Korea: From 98.5% in 2010 to About 30% (Android Rises to Almost 50%)
- Samsung ships like a million Linux devices per day
- Improving Site Navigation for Easier Discovery and Catch-ups
- This site is run by code we wrote ourselves
- LibrePlanet 2024 Recordings
- Let's hope independent recordings by viewers can help recovery of "lost talks" (recordings)
- GNU/Linux Reaches 11% Market Share in the United States Of America - an All-Time High
- The United States Of America is where the operating system started (Boston) and where Linus Torvalds works (Portland)
- Links 11/05/2024: XBox Crisis, Spotify Exodus Continues
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 11/05/2024: Why to Delete GitHub
- Links for the day
- In Europe, Bing Fell Every Month This Year, Lost a Considerable Share Since "Bing Chat" and All the Chatbot Hype
- Microsoft's Bing has had many layoffs lately
- Links 11/05/2024: Analysis of the Microsoft Crisis and Backdoor-Looking Bugs
- Links for the day
- Attacking the Messenger?
- Stack Overflow and LLM licencing
- Microsoft Fired Loads of Staff in Kenya, Which is Another Large Country Where GNU/Linux Has Grown a Lot
- Microsoft pays Kenyans only 2 dollars an hour for an IT/office job
- Knowing the True History of Debian, Owing to Irish Debian Developer Daniel Pocock (Currently Running to Become Member of the European Parliament)
- Irish-Australian and scapegoat of a highly dysfunctional 'Debian family'
- Attacking by Credentials
- Modest people do not demand fancy titles
- Microsoft Windows Used to Have 99% of the OS Market in Jordan, Now It's Just 13% (Less Than iOS)
- Based on the data of statCounter, GNU/Linux in Jordan climbed from 0.62% in May 2014 to nearly 5% right now
- More Nations Are Reaching and Exceeding 5% Market Share for GNU/Linux, Microsoft Wants to be Bailed Out Again
- Microsoft is once again reaching out to Biden for a bailout - a subject we'll cover in a video some time this weekend
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 10, 2024
- IRC logs for Friday, May 10, 2024
- [Meme] What Do You Call a Woman Who Does BDS on Free Software? Elana Hamasman.
- Here are some confused thoughts
- [Meme] Mission Aborted
- Mission Aborted: cancel RMS
- Taking Things Up a Notch
- we strive/aim towards 15-25 new pages per day, i.e. around 500 per month or 6,000 per year
- Gemini Links 10/05/2024: Love Is Infinite and Books vs Internet
- Links for the day
- Links 10/05/2024: Fears Over TSMC, Microsoft Loses Major Patent Case
- Links for the day
- Links 10/05/2024: Burner Phones in 6-Eyes Government, “Hatred and Demonization” on the Rise
- Links for the day
- Microsoft Layoffs and Closures Now Reported in Africa
- Microsoft Uninstalls Nigeria as it closes African Development Centre (ADC) in Lagos
- [Video] Richard Stallman, "I Saw You Playing Your Recorder in Paris" (Due to Proprietary Software Only)
- Corporate autocrats do not want counterparts or alternatives to even exist
- Five Years After the Extensive Campaign of Defamation Against Richard Stallman He's Still Giving Public Talks
- "Richard Stallman will give a talk, in French, Free Software and Freedom in a Digital Society at Centrale Supelec in Saclay, on May 15."
- Microsoft Is Rebranding Its 'Chatbot' Search for the Third Time Because It Fails to Gain Adoption
- it always means that something has failed - not that they'll openly admit it
- Richard Stallman Gives a Talk in Paris Next Week (in French) and It's About Freedom
- another talk, which he has only just announced
- Pace Up, Distractions Down
- We've made our curation process faster and more efficient
- In Algeria, GNU/Linux Estimated to Have Grown Tenfold in a Decade
- a sharp rise in GNU/Linux usage
- [Meme] Red Hat Diversity
- Red Hat: don't mention Haghighi
- Our Sister Site Turns 20 in Exactly One Month
- twentieth anniversary of the site
- Corporate Media Focuses on Who's Suing Red Hat, Not What It's Sued For
- The unfortunate thing is, anybody who has an opinion on this lawsuit will inevitably be framed as "pro-Trump" or "anti-Trump"
- Links 10/05/2024: Many More Microsoft Layoffs on the Way
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 09, 2024
- IRC logs for Thursday, May 09, 2024
- Microsoft OSI Uses Its Money to Hire PR Agencies That Spy and Spread Mindless Openwashing of GPL-Violating Microsoft Ploy
- `We're under attack. But the attackers smile at us and hire PR firms to spy, mislead etc.
- Gemini Links 10/05/2024: geminispace.info to Shut Down in 3 Weeks
- Links for the day
- In Nigeria, Africa's (by Far) Largest Population, Microsoft Bing is the 0%
- To Microsoft, Africa is just "someplace" to get intensive, hard-working human 'resources' (tech labour) at 2 dollars 'apiece' as in per person per hour