abarbarian Posted March 31, 2023 Author Share Posted March 31, 2023 First Look at the Upcoming Mageia 9, Here’s What’s New Quote Mageia is a Linux distribution forked in 2010 by the now-defunct Mandriva Linux. Unfortunately, Mageia has lost much of the legendary status that its distant progenitor Mandrake Linux once had. Nonetheless, it and the other Mandrake’s surviving successor, OpenMandriva, keep its spirit and philosophy alive. Specifically, a desktop-centric and software-rich Linux distribution entirely focused on ease of use for new users. Mandriva was one of my first tries at linux. I have fond memories of it. OpenMandriva Lx Review Quote Long-time Linux users may recall the once popular Mandrake Linux, but, in North America, any traces of Mandrake have almost disappeared from public view. However, in Europe, the story is different. The once popular distribution has several descendants. In particular, its direct legal descendant is OpenMandriva Lx [1]. Wanting to learn more, I asked for more information on the OpenMandriva forum. Here is what I learned. OpenMandriva Lx ROME Released as OpenMandriva’s Rolling-Release Edition Quote It's powered by Clang-compiled Linux kernel 6.1 and offers separate KDE Plasma and GNOME ISO images. Meet OpenMandriva Lx ROME, OpenMandriva’s rolling-release edition where you install once and receive updates forever (or until you broke your system and you have to reinstall). It is a distribution for bleeding-edge users who want to have the latest and greatest GNU/Linux technologies without upgrading or reinstalling. OpenMandriva Lx 23.01: A Breath of Fresh Air for Distro Hoppers Quote One essential aspect of OpenMandriva is that it is one of the so-called original distributions. In other words, it is not based on another existing one. The distro is designed to be easy to use and to provide a wide range of software and features to meet the needs of a variety of users. Until now, OpenMandriva was only released via the well-known fixed-release model. However, the beginning of 2023 marks a significant change to the distribution, providing for the first time a parallel release, ROME, which adheres to the rolling release approach. Seems like everyone is jumping on the rolling release model these days. Guess I'll have to start using Gentoo to be able to keep up my bragging rights 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 Mandrake/Mandriva was Bruno's favorite distro 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted March 31, 2023 Share Posted March 31, 2023 51 minutes ago, securitybreach said: Mandrake/Mandriva was Bruno's favorite distro Wow, I haven't heard Mandrake mentioned in years. I think you could buy it at CompUSA along with Suse and Red Hat... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 Slax Linux 15.0.1 and 11.6: Experience the Power of Simplicity Quote Slack Linux offers editions closely following the major releases of two different Linux distributions, Slackware and Debian. For example, Slax 15.0.1 is based on the Slackware 15.0 release and is powered by the Linux kernel 6.0.12. Quote At the same time, Slax 11.6 is based on Debian’s most recent stable version, 11.6, but, unlike it, is also powered by the Linux kernel 6.0.12, as with its Slackware-based release. Quote Those interested can download Slax 15.0.1 ISO (255 MB) and Slax 11.6 ISO (291 MB) installation images from the project’s website. Both versions support 32-bit and 64-bit processor architectures. https://www.slax.org/ Quote Slax is a compact, fast, and modern Linux operating system that combines sleek design with modular approach. With the ability to run directly from a USB flash drive without the need for installation, Slax is truly portable and fits easily in your pocket. Despite its small size, it offers visually appealing graphical user interface and a carefully curated selection of basic pre-installed programs such as a file manager, text editor, terminal, and more. Quote You probably noticed that Slax is available for 32bit and 64bit processor architectures. The 32bit version is designed to run on very old computers (as old as Intel 686; that dates back to 1995). It will run properly on brand new computers too, but it is somehow bigger download. Furthermore it has a limitation that single application can address only 4GB of RAM. On the other hand, the 64bit version is smaller, does not have such limitation, and it will run on most computers available nowadays. So in general, if you plan to use Slax on very old archaic computers, then choose 32bit. If your intention is to use Slax on machine made in this century, you better go for 64bit. And if you don't know what your target hardware is, go for 64bit too, because the chance you'll ever see a 32bit computer nowadays is almost zero. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 18, 2023 Author Share Posted June 18, 2023 On 7/14/2015 at 6:48 PM, abarbarian said: Thought it might be a good idea to have a thread about odd ball distros. Above is the opening sentence to this thread. I personally think Manjaro is an oddball distro and the articles linked to show just some of the reasons why I think so. Manjarno Quote It’s impossible to not make mistakes, especially with software. While it’s tempting to mock every single mistake, that isn’t really the point of this page. Most things documented here to showcase a pattern of mistakes, with the events that were one-offs being things I (subjectively) feel are egregious enough warrant showing up here. If you have any feedback or questions, or want to suggest changes, open an issue or a pull request. Quote I know what I’ve written here can be seen as inflammatory, but that’s not really what this page is for. This resource is to quickly have something to point to the next time someone says “should i use manjaro??” in a chat room. Maintaining a distro is commendable, and that alone takes credit. However, I’d rather not have your time (and others, when Manjaro inevitably breaks, and you need to ask for help) wasted, trying to figure out the odd quirks and issues that Manjaro causes. manjarno Quote Repository which documents some reasons for not using Manjaro. Disclaimer: I don't hate Manjaro. These are some reasons which made me consider shifting to a different distro. However, I still believe that Manjaro is a good starting point for beginners who want to explore an Arch based like distro. Note: To clarify my stance, I should state what I use personally. I use Endeavour OS, which uses Arch repositories directly. They maintain a separate repository for distributing packages for theming, some small utilities and drivers - none of which override any packages in Arch mainline repositories. Quote Manjaro maintains a separate repository that is not in sync with Arch's main repositories which means Manjaro is not just Arch. To add to that, even Manjaro wiki states that it is not Arch [1]! To quote the wiki, In fact, the differences between Manjaro and Arch are far greater than the differences between the popular Ubuntu distribution and its many derivatives, including Mint and Zorin. (Yes, Manjaro isn't Arch and Manjaro users shouldn't use the "btw" line. However, I don't really care.) If anyone I know wants to try out a penguin distro I always point them towards MX linux. Myself I use Arch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 (edited) I have installed Manjaro both on the rails and for an extended time in a Virtual Machine. I have not had stability issues but I rarely get anything from the AUR. Right now I don't use the distro at all. I don't like their forum - when I joined there were a lot of "my way or the highway" types in there - quite a nasty bunch. To be fair, there were some genuine experts who didn't mind helping out. Their default DEs are quite polished and good looking - especially Xfce. I have never thought of Manjaro as "Arch based" since they have their own repos - Ubuntu is not "Debian with a better installer." At the end of the day they are an OK distro and I wouldn't advise anyone to avoid them. I use EndeavourOS and Arch itself and hence Manjaro is a solution to a problem I don't have. Edited June 18, 2023 by raymac46 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted June 18, 2023 Author Share Posted June 18, 2023 I tried Manjaro on a ssd so it was a real install. It borked on me after less than an hours use. So I was not in any way impressed. Agree that some Manjaro fanboys are real prats. Agree that there must be some pretty talented devs at work on Manjaro though they do need to up their security game. I would never recommend Manjaro to anyone. As I stated earlier I only recomend MX. I would be happy to help someone out with trying out Arch though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted June 18, 2023 Share Posted June 18, 2023 I did have trouble with Manjaro years ago in the early days of LXQt. I tried an unofficial LXQt version of Manjaro with a dicey repo that was often offline, a rough-edged DE, and a cruddy old 32-bit Netbook. Recipe for disaster of my own making. So I would not judge mainstream Manjaro by that experience. I would not recommend it because I don't use it, couldn't help anyone out with tech issues and generally have little interest in it. There are many happy users out there so I won't criticize them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 Fedora Asahi Remix Announced as the Flagship Distro for Apple Silicon Quote The Asahi Linux Project announced today Fedora Asahi Remix as their new flagship distro with the ultimate goal to provide users with a polished Linux experience on the Apple Silicon. As you may know, if you ever wanted to install Linux on an Apple computer, the Asahi Linux project’s goal was always to bring full Linux support to Apple Silicon (e.g. Apple M1, Apple M2, etc.) for all GNU/Linux distributions, mainly focusing their work on the kernel and bootloaders. https://asahilinux.org/about/ Quote Asahi Linux is a project and community with the goal of porting Linux to Apple Silicon Macs, starting with the 2020 M1 Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. Our goal is not just to make Linux run on these machines but to polish it to the point where it can be used as a daily OS. Doing this requires a tremendous amount of work, as Apple Silicon is an entirely undocumented platform. In particular, we will be reverse engineering the Apple GPU architecture and developing an open-source driver for it. Quote Asahi means “rising sun” in Japanese, and it is also the name of an apple cultivar. 旭りんご (asahi ringo) is what we know as the McIntosh Apple, the apple variety that gave the Mac its name. Out of the ten top developers on the project two of them are female which is nice to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymac46 Posted August 3, 2023 Share Posted August 3, 2023 It's always good to see distros that are useful to reuse and repurpose hardware - even if it's the recent Apple stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted August 8, 2023 Author Share Posted August 8, 2023 EasyOS: An Experimental Distro With Unique Qualities Quote Dubbed the “new paradigm” for a Linux distribution by its creator, EasyOS is a pretty unique distro that blends the best of Puppy Linux and Quirky, a variant of Puppy. EasyOS's development began back in 2017, when its creator, Barry Kauler, came back after a break from his involvement in Puppy Linux. Over the years, EasyOS has had plenty of releases, and with this article, we aim to show you what this distro is all about. How and why EasyOS is different Quote EasyOS was born in January 2017, and since then there have been bits and pieces written here and there about how and why it is different from other Linux distributions. This includes some rather technical descriptions. What is needed is a simple plain-English list, so that anyone can get a quick idea of what EasyOS is all about. So, here goes. Do note, though, that Easy is an experimental distribution, and the features may change, and some features are a work-in-progress. These items are not listed in any particular order... Quote Easy runs on modern UEFI-firmware computers, but is also dedicated to supporting old BIOS computers. The minimum requirement is that it must have a x86 64-bit CPU, going right back to the "nocona" CPU which is the earliest released by Intel and also compatible with early AMD 64-bit CPUs. The computer must have at least 2GB RAM (and drive with swap-partition when only 2GB RAM) and a PCI or PCIe bus (not ISA or EISA), and the monitor at least 800x600 (1024x768 is the preferred minimum). Latest download - kirkstone/2023/5.4.10 Interesting observations. Why the ISO format has to die Why ISO was retired I remember coming across this bootmanager fairly recently. It seems to be very similar to rEFInd. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Limine I like the sound of EASY and when I manage to find my usb stash I will be giving it a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 On 8/8/2023 at 4:19 AM, abarbarian said: Why the ISO format has to die Why ISO was retired I read through the posts but I still ISO is king. There is a reason that linux distros and windows use the standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 13 hours ago, securitybreach said: There is a reason that linux distros and windows use the standard. Such as ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 11 hours ago, abarbarian said: Such as ?? 3 good reasons: An ISO file is an archive file that contains an identical copy of data found on an optical disc, like a CD or DVD. ISO images are often used for backing up optical discs or for distributing large file sets that are intended to be burned to an optical disc. ISO images can be mounted as virtual discs, allowing apps to treat them as if a real optical disc were inserted. https://www.howtogeek.com/356714/what-is-an-iso-file-and-how-do-i-open-one/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrat Posted August 11, 2023 Share Posted August 11, 2023 Barry Kauler, dev of Puppy and EasyOS, is a very smart guy. Also seems quite eccentric and has strange ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted August 11, 2023 Author Share Posted August 11, 2023 7 hours ago, sunrat said: Barry Kauler, dev of Puppy and EasyOS, is a very smart guy. Also seems quite eccentric and has strange ideas. Yup. I do quite like his Pups though. I have played around with them ever since I started my penguin journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted August 11, 2023 Author Share Posted August 11, 2023 9 hours ago, securitybreach said: 3 good reasons: Well three reasons they may be useful they are not necessarily best practice for the modern world. 9 hours ago, securitybreach said: An ISO file is an archive file that contains an identical copy of data found on an optical disc, like a CD or DVD. You can make identical copies of data in various formats, so that is only useful if you want an exact copy specifically for burning to a CD/DVD. 9 hours ago, securitybreach said: ISO images are often used for backing up optical discs or for distributing large file sets that are intended to be burned to an optical disc. Like above only useful if you want an exact copy specifically for burning to a CD/DVD. Nearly all consumer pc's these days do not have a CD/DVD drive so ordinary folk will not be using a CD/DVD for backup purposes.The only reason that industry keeps on using CD/DVD's is cost, they already have them so will keep on using them until it is cheaper to ditch the system for a much better more modern one. A slim 4 TB nvme drive can be used in an external enclosure and would replace hundreds if not thousands of CD/DVD's. The data would be safer as the drives will not degrade as quickly as data on CD/DVD's. Storage space would be far smaller so cost less.One 4 TB drive can hold the equivalent amount of data as of 851/ 4.7 GB DVD's. 11 hours ago, securitybreach said: ISO images can be mounted as virtual discs, allowing apps to treat them as if a real optical disc were inserted. That is an old fashioned use case and a dwindling one at that. With Container,docker,snap,flatpak or app image type stuff there is little need for .iso's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 On 3/29/2021 at 1:52 PM, raymac46 said: I also copied an ISO of Lubuntu so when you launch Ventoy it gives you a choice of the two distros in a menu. You need to turn off Secure Boot for it to work on Windows 10. Lubuntu won't work in Secure Boot mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crp Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 On 8/9/2023 at 1:47 PM, securitybreach said: I read through the posts but I still ISO is king. There is a reason that linux distros and windows use the standard. i must have missed something, but was ISO skipped since running LiveCD would not have worked for EasyOS in ISO form? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted October 5, 2023 Author Share Posted October 5, 2023 Slax Linux Gets Enhanced Session Management and Boot Parameter Options Quote On his birthday (happy birthday!), Slax Linux creator and maintainer Tomas Matejicek announced new versions of his tiny and portable GNU/Linux distribution, bringing various enhancements and bug fixes. Slackware-Based Porteus Linux 5.01 Released with Linux Kernel 6.5 Quote Based on the Slackware 15.0 repositories from Slackware-15.0-patches as of September 21st, 2023, Porteus 5.01 received a major kernel bump compared to Porteus 5.0, which was powered by Linux kernel 5.18, namely the latest and greatest Linux 6.5 kernel. This will provide users who want to install Porteus on newer devices with better hardware support. Blimey there are lots of Slackware derivatives updating at the moment. I wonder if the V.T.OS will ever get an update 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 It's still working. Who needs an upgrade? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 My primary reason for not upgrading to Slackware 15 is still the UGLY new Xfce. I like my old Xfce. Don't like that newer one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 On 10/5/2023 at 11:28 AM, V.T. Eric Layton said: My primary reason for not upgrading to Slackware 15 is still the UGLY new Xfce. I like my old Xfce. Don't like that newer one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 This is definitely a very strange os. InkBox OS is an open-source, fully-functional standalone OS for Rakuten Kobo's eReaders. Here are some of InkBox OS' features: Fully integrated KoBox X11 subsystem ePUB, PDF, picture and plain text display support Versatile configuration options for reading muPDF rendering engine for ePUBs and PDFs Wi-Fi support and web browser Encrypted storage with EncFS Fast dictionary & local storage search Dark mode Full factory reset option if needed Seamless update process VNC viewer app Search function 10 built-in fonts Auto-suspend Lock screen/passcode User-friendly experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 Damn Small Linux 2024: A Revival After 12 Years Quote In a surprising comeback, Damn Small Linux (DSL) has made its In a surprising comeback, Damn Small Linux (DSL) has made its return after a 12-year hiatus, releasing the DSL 2024 ISO. This alpha-quality release, tailored explicitly for low-power systems and outdated hardware, comes 16 years after the last stable version. The new DSL 2024 is built for the i386 architecture, with a boot assembly size of 665 MB – significantly larger than its predecessor, which was a mere 50 MB in size. return after a 12-year hiatus, releasing the DSL 2024 ISO. This alpha-quality release, tailored explicitly for low-power systems and outdated hardware, comes 16 years after the last stable version. The new DSL 2024 is built for the i386 architecture, with a boot assembly size of 665 MB – significantly larger than its predecessor, which was a mere 50 MB in size. Blimey you just can't keep some folks down. Well done for the revival. Mind you just like us it has got fatter with age 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 41 minutes ago, abarbarian said: Damn Small Linux 2024: A Revival After 12 Years Blimey you just can't keep some folks down. Well done for the revival. Mind you just like us it has got fatter with age I used DSL years ago. Damn it was small, but it was fun to use. It wasn't anything permanent around here but it came to the rescue a few times. I may have to revisit it. Thanks for the post, abarbarian. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) 3 hours ago, abarbarian said: Damn Small Linux 2024: A Revival After 12 Years Blimey you just can't keep some folks down. Well done for the revival. Mind you just like us it has got fatter with age OK...just ran the latest in VM. Right off the bat, I didn't like the desktop background they chose. That would be the first thing I'd change. Most likely I won't be burning this to a disc, but it's fun revisiting now and again. Edited February 6 by wa4chq 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 On 2/6/2024 at 12:54 PM, wa4chq said: I used DSL years ago. I played around with it way back when I first became a penguin user. It baffled the heck out of me as I did not even know what nano was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wa4chq Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 22 minutes ago, abarbarian said: I played around with it way back when I first became a penguin user. It baffled the heck out of me as I did not even know what nano was. I think I've always been a nano kinda guy. It may be cuz I used Pine (it may now be Alpine...not the OS) for email. I never did Emacs and only on rare occasions do I use Vi or Vim.... I think last month when I was toying with Alpine (the OS), the default editor was Vi.....I hate when they do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 Vim for the win 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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