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DistributionsNews and Editorials Sidux 2009-03 "Momos"Debian unstable (codenamed Sid) is not called "unstable" for nothing. It doesn't receive security updates, it contains bleeding edge packages which may break the system, and occasionally the system might break very badly. Although we don't have any statistics to refer to, there is probably no Debian unstable user who has never ended up with their sleeves rolled up fixing some serious problem which came up after a system upgrade. That's why the Debian project is very clear about it: "Use it at your own risk!" Sid is a challenge for some, and it's quite clear that it isn't the perfect choice for non-advanced GNU/Linux users. Nevertheless, for those up for the challenge, Debian unstable has potential. Taking advantage of that potential is a matter of preference. Debian polishes the unstable packages until they reach "testing", and continues to polish them until "testing" becomes the next stable release at some point. On the other hand, Ubuntu uses snapshots of Sid's codebase, recompiling and polishing the packages to build its stable releases. Sidux takes another approach by giving more love to the vanilla Debian unstable so it becomes capable for everyday desktop use. The pastSidux was founded by Stefan Lippers-Hollmann (slh), an ex-Kanotix (a KNOPPIX derivative) developer. He resigned from his position in the Kanotix team after two years of activity, due to "technical and personal disagreements". Among the issues Lippers-Hollmann found unacceptable was a strategy change towards more stable Debian branches as a base for Kanotix. While Kanotix looked for more stability, SLH decided to stick to unstable, which resulted with founding of Sidux - "the best Debian Sid based live distro", according to the Sidux declaration. For more details about the issue jump into the LWN time machine and read this article from December 2006. Three years after the initial announcement, the Sidux team has released 11 versions. The current stable release is 2009-03, codenamed Momos (Μωμος). The presentSidux is primarily a KDE distribution, with an optional XFCE ISO. The Lite variant provides a minimal KDE installation, available in ISOs for 32 or 64 bit machines. "KDE full" is a DVD image which ships the complete KDE suite with several additional applications like OpenOffice.org and Iceweasel. The Sidux installer offers a painless installation interface, which transfers the system to hard drive in a matter of minutes. It's user friendly, with an interface divided into tabs (tabs are changed by clicking the "Forward" button). The Ext3 filesystem is a default, with Ext4 available. Besides an option for hard drive installs, Sidux offers an "install-sidux-to-usb" interface which installs the system to a USB stick. Apparently a bug appeared during the testing of this feature, since it didn't work for me with the default empty root password. 
The first, and one of the most important differences between Debian Sid and Sidux is the kernel. While the Debian kernel is a bit conservative regarding desktop settings (preemption, etc.), Sidux uses a custom kernel which is tuned for maximum performance. In addition, there is a long list of included firmware. The goal is to make the best out-of-the-box functionality as possible. A good example of this was the Intel 4965 wireless controller on the test machine. The installer offered firmware installation and it was usable after the first boot. The majority of Sidux software is installed from the Debian Sid repository. It's used alongside the Sidux repository which contains custom packages and updates/fixes for some of the Sid packages. For example, OpenOffice.org will be installed from Debian, but Kaffeine (the default media player) is built by the Sidux team and stored in the Sidux repository. Most of the custom packages contain the kernel, firmware, Sidux tools and other customizations like artwork and documentation. Version 2009-03, is very fresh. It's running on top of Linux 2.6.32, Xorg 7.4, with KDE 4.3.4. A deeper look at the Sidux repository reveals Kaffeine 1.0 pre2 and Lirc 0.8.3 SVN build, together with a qemu-kvm package update, among others. The rest of the software is basically the same as Debian sid. 
Besides the goal of being fast, and to recognize and make functional as much hardware as possible, Sidux ships several configuration tools. They are wrapped together into the command line interface called Sidux Control Center (siduxcc). Siduxcc offers network interface configuration through Ceni (the network card configuration tool) and the hostname settings. Service activation/deactivation is available through rcconf for runlevels, or a custom interface per service (Apache, Cups, etc.). The X server settings offer a proprietary driver installation option for Nvidia/ATI chips, together with the usual graphical subsystem settings like resolution, color depth or compositing. Apt dist-upgrade and kernel updates are also possible to manage from Siduxcc. 
The artwork has been customized for Sidux. It seems that the Sidux team takes appearances seriously since the overall look of 2009-03 showed quite a lot of energy invested into it. There is a custom font too, available in the Sidux repository. Speaking of repositories and artwork, the Sidux art development team maintains a separate repository which contains Inkscape and MyPaint packages built from SVN, which are used for the distribution's graphics production. 
Sidux performed very well on the test machine, showing that kernel optimizations do their job. The snappy KDE 4 was a real pleasure, with all the goodies Debian has provided for years. Potentially the most complicated task for a regular user, proprietary Nvidia driver installation, is handled in a relatively easy way. It is managed with a command line interface, but truth to be told, it's as easy to use the arrow and enter keys rather than moving the mouse and clicking. The futureWith everything taken into account, it's hard to make a concise conclusion about Sidux. The reason is simple though: it's a desktop optimized, easy to use and configure distribution, which relies on the Debian unstable branch. Despite the fact that it runs very well in terms of performance and stability, it is still built on top of a package base which can seriously break at some point. Ordinary users should not have to deal with potential Debian Sid troubles. Therefore, Sidux might be great for the users who are able to handle somewhat complex situations, with no time (or will) to make Debian Sid a decent desktop distribution. If one desires a Debian/KDE based distribution with fresh software Sidux is worth a try.
New Releases GNUSTEP CD 2.0 releasedVersion 2.0 of the GNUSTEP live CD is available. "The GNUSTEP live CD project has a new version out including many GNUstep software forming a development environment. As a bonus you get some classic games like nethack, and quite a few network and system recovery and administrator tools. There is also a few 3D and audio programs on it. It's based on the 2.6.31 Linux kernel, and on the Debian Linux distribution, created using the live-helper package."
Jolicloud netbook Linux distro goes beta (geek.com)geek.com covers the release of Jolicloud beta. "Jolicloud is gorgeous: a clean, crisp, stripped-down operating system with an iPhone-like quality. It's been specifically designed for netbooks, which means that most of the interface is fullscreen, and features big, punchable program launching buttons and easy-to-install app packages."
Omega (Boxer) Fedora RemixOmega, a Fedora remix that includes multimedia players, codecs and other packages by default, has released a new version named Boxer. "Omega (Boxer) release is a remix of Fedora 12 and includes all the updates till Monday 14th of December 2009 from Fedora, RPM Fusion and Livna repositories. Adobe repository is also enabled by default for convenience but no software is installed from that repository by default."
Ubuntu Lucid Alpha 1 releasedUbuntu has announced the release of the first alpha for Lucid Lynx (10.04). This release is also available for Ubuntu Server for UEC and EC2, Ubuntu ARM, Kubuntu and Xubuntu.
Distribution News Fedora Fedora mailing list migrationAll Fedora mailing lists that are currently hosted at redhat.com will be migrated to lists.fedoraproject.org. "Red Hat has agreed to forward the mail for the old list name to the new list names, and continue hosting the archives at their current location. Additionally, all archives will be copied over to the new location as well. All new archives will only be present at the new location."
Fedora Board Recap 2009-12-10Click below for a recap of the December 10, 2009 meeting of the Fedora Advisory Board. Topics include Trademark agreements, fedoraturkiye.org, Planet guidelines, FUDCon follow-up, and more.
FUDCon Unites Contributors in Canada's Queen City (Red Hat News)Red Hat News covers the recent FUDCon Toronto. "This past weekend, the Fedora Project held one of its largest events ever at the York campus of Seneca College in Toronto, Canada. Over 200 talented Fedora developers and contributors started off Saturday morning in the Stephen E. Quinlan Building using the BarCamp method of "unconference" organization. The crowd was so large that we overflowed into a second large lecture hall, joined by video and audio conferencing to the first. Speakers pitched their talks, and audience interest decided the final schedule for the day, which filled lecture halls and classrooms throughout the building. Often people attend professional conferences and report that their best experiences happened in the hallway, talking to peers and luminaries. Our approach to FUDCon takes this so-called "hallway track" and makes it the focal point of the event, and as a result the conference includes much richer and satisfying content."
Ubuntu family Minutes from the Ubuntu Technical Board meetingClick below for the minutes of the Ubuntu Technical Board meeting held on December 1, 2009. Topics include Archive reorganization, Kubuntu updates policy, failing out of maintainer scripts, Community Bugs, and more.
Sponsored security upload process updateJamie Strandboge covers improvements to security updates for community supported packages. "Hopefully these changes will make it easier for people to contribute security updates, make our team a little more transparent, and ultimately better integrate our teams."
New Distributions Unity LinuxUnity Linux is a Mandriva-based distribution that utilizes the MkLiveCD project, which allows developers to create their own distribution on top of a Unity Linux core. Unity Linux strives to provide a solid, well maintained foundation that developers can use as a starting point to build their own remastered distributions. The project recently announced its first beta release, Unity Linux 2010 Beta 1.
Distribution Newsletters DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 333The DistroWatch Weekly for December 14, 2009 is out. "As we near the end of another eventful year, the development of distributions tends to slow down a gear or two. This is perhaps a good time to take a look at some of the lesser-known projects. Today's feature article covers LinuxConsole, a small distro that started as a modified Mandriva for gaming consoles, but has since matured into a full-featured operating system in its own right. Read on for a complete review. In the news section, TuxRadar evaluates the most popular KDE-centric distributions, the Archiso-live project delivers a slick Arch Linux live CD with a friendly hard disk installer, Ubuntu sets out goals for its next stable release, and Katana announces a useful multi-boot suite containing today's most popular security distributions. Also in this release, the Q&A section hints at some reasons why Kubuntu is sometimes considered a neglected brother of the Ubuntu family, while a brief statistics section looks at online sales of low-cost CDs with free operating systems. All this and more in this issue of DistroWatch Weekly - happy reading!"
Fedora Weekly News 206The Fedora Weekly News for December 13, 2009 is out. "This week's issue kicks off with an announcement that the Fedora-related voting has been extended one day due to some infrastructure outages. There is still time to vote, if you haven't yet! In news from Ambassadors, details on Fedora 12 release parties in Greece and Venezuela, and an Ambassadors update from Tunisia. Also a reminder to vote before the end of today in the FAMSco elections. In Quality Assurance news, we have a special double issue for you, including details from the latest weekly meetings, a report on QA activities at FUDCon Toronto last weekend, and early news on Fedora 13 work. In Design news, early details on Goddard theming and looks toward updating the Fedora community website. Security Advisories brings us up to date on the latest security patches for F10 through F12. We hope you enjoy FWN 206!"
Openmoko Community Updates/2009-12-09This edition of the Openmoko Community Updates covers several new applications and other community news.
OpenSUSE Weekly News/101This issue of the OpenSUSE Weekly News covers Announcing New openSUSE Board members, Thomas Göttlicher: Install Multiple Kernel Versions using the YaST Qt Package Manager, Ben Kevan: KDE 4.4 Beta 1 - Tabbed Windows Review - openSUSE, Adobe Flash Vulnerabilities Affect Flash Player and Adobe AIR, Contemplating Upgrade to 11.2, and more.
Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter #172The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter for December 12, 2009 is out. "In this issue we cover: Lucid Alpha 1 released, Call for nominations: Ubuntu Developer Membership Board, EMEA Regional Membership Board seeking new member, Edubuntu Council Elections, Ubuntu Women Team - A call for leadership nominations, Merging ubuntu-sru and motu-sru, New Ubuntu Members: Americas Membership Board Meeting, LoCo Directory, Introducing The Ubuntu Hour, Ubuntu Hour Orlando, FL & Salem, NC, Launchpad: Read-only status notification, Phone interviews about your Launchpad usage, Launchpad: Inline dupe-finding: an exercise in pain reduction (A call for testing), The Planet: Jono Bacon, Daniel Holbach, Charles Profitt, & The Ubuntu One Blog, and much much more!"
Newsletters and articles of interest Get the best KDE Linux distro (TuxRadar)TuxRadar looks at KDE-centric distributions. "Rather than providing simple packages for KDE, a real KDE distro is likely to include GUI refinements, usability tweaks, custom themes, artwork and a good selection of KDE applications. It's also nice when Gnome and GTK applications play happily with their KDE counterparts, especially if a compatible theme has been chosen from them both. KDE-based distros should be able to do this better than simple Gnome desktops."
Distribution reviews Distro Review: Fedora 12 (Adventures in Open Source)Dan Lynch reviews Fedora 12. "Fedora advocates always point to the fact that it often has new innovations before other distros. The developers work really hard on this and I think they see themselves as trail blazers in a way. They push a lot of their work back upstream and that's how it ends up in so many other distributions. That's something they really should be commended for." (Thanks to Rahul Sundaram)
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