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DistributionsFuduntu: A small distribution making it bigThe Fuduntu distribution is just over a year old, and its first release had a modest but respectable ten thousand downloads. However, with the growing interest in alternatives to GNOME 3 and Ubuntu's Unity, the new 14.12 release is receiving more notice. It's easy to see why: using borrowed tools, Fuduntu tweaks a GNOME 2 desktop to roughly resemble both GNOME and Unity, while offering an unusual but highly serviceable selection of applications and customization tools. The result is a distribution that, although designed for netbooks, works well on larger screens as well. With the motto "Punning Name, Serious Distro," Fuduntu was founded by Andrew "fewt" Wyatt on November 7, 2010. "The very first version," Wyatt told Distrowatch recently, "was nothing more than Fedora 14 with a few tweaks and packages that I normally installed on my computer(s) wrapped up into a live DVD for me to use to install everything on my second computer." ![[Desktop]](/images/2011/fuduntu-sm.png)
Since then, Fuduntu has matured dramatically. From Wyatt's private convenience, it has grown to a project with a regular team of eight, each of whom has a voice in development decisions. It now has an end user's license agreement similar to Red Hat's, a three-server system for rolling out security and regular package releases, and a quarterly release cycle. Recently, too, it has started hosting its own repositories, instead of relying on Fedora 14's. Looking back on the previous year with obvious satisfaction in the release announcement, Wyatt declared: "We have grown astronomically both in terms of the community, and in terms of mindshare." Taking the middle roadAsked by LWN what is implied by the name, Wyatt replied:
Fuduntu is designed to fit in the middle by providing a stable desktop with
some of the design concepts from the major distributions like Fedora and
Ubuntu. We don't limit ourselves to that scope, however. We have also
looked at other platforms like Windows and OSX and tuned the experience to
be similar to all of them, yet still unique.
What Wyatt did not say (but is obvious from the design), is that Fuduntu's middle way includes avoiding the radical and sometimes controversial changes introduced by GNOME 3.x and Ubuntu's Unity shells. Fuduntu uses Fedora's Anaconda installer and, until recently, the Fedora 14 repositories, but its default appearance is all its own. Specifically, Fuduntu uses GNOME 2.32 with the already existing Avant Window Navigator in place of a bottom panel. A combination of a Favorites menu and a task manager, this dock is reminiscent of both GNOME 3's dash and Unity's launcher, and can even be configured to give the illusion of a 3-D appearance via a combination of perspective, spotlighting, and shadows. ![[Avant configuration]](/images/2011/fuduntu-avant-config-sm.png)
The difference is that, unlike its counterparts on other desktops, Avant is highly configurable. Like the classic GNOME panel, its position and size are adjustable. So, too, are its icons, theme, auto-hide capabilities, and other behaviors. In addition, Avant supports its own set of applets, some similar in function to the ones on the panel, and others unique, such as the media player buttons. Other standard features, such as virtual workspaces, are available from panel applets, but are not enabled by default. The overall effect is an incremental improvement in the classic GNOME 2 series. The result is an appealing simplicity that might leave you wondering why so much effort was invested in GNOME 3 or Unity when a similar result could be achieved simply by creative borrowing. Rethinking applications and configurationBesides the appearance, the other factor that makes Fuduntu stand out is the selection of default applications. Like a number of distributions, Fuduntu licenses Adobe Flash and the Fluendo MP3 codec, neither of which costs anything, but requires yearly approval from their manufacturers before distributing. However, unlike most distributions derived from a major one, Fuduntu does not simply dump the standard GNOME applications into its default installation. It includes a few GNOME standards, such as Banshee, Nautilus, and Tomboy, but other choices suggest a thoughtful awareness of the range of alternative possibilities. For instance, network applications are represented by the Chromium browser and a link to GoogleDocs in place of an office suite, as well as the DejaVu backup tool and Dropbox, the cloud storage system. Others you might have only heard of (if at all), such as the screen capture application Shutter, or Remmina, the remote desktop client. However, where Fuduntu's selection is most welcome is the configuration options. One of its default applications is Ailurus, a combination package installer and graphical GNOME configuration tool. Scan through the System menus, and you soon discover more, including tools for selecting Nautilus scripts and Nautilus Actions to enhance the file browser. You can also use the Bottom Panel Chooser to select the type of panel you want, or Jupiter to control power and hardware. All these controls add up to the most configurable default GNOME desktops that I have ever encountered. Yet, because of the simplicity of Fuduntu's appearance, the impression is not one of clutter, but of a desktop that appeals — unlike recent versions of Fedora and Ubuntu — to all levels of users. The advanced tools are in the menus if you can appreciate them, but you can just as safely ignore them if you prefer. ViabilityWith an update of the familiar GNOME 2 series and a high degree of configurability, Fuduntu has a simple, yet powerful formula for success. Yet, like all small distributions, Fuduntu raises some basic questions — namely, can it survive? Just as importantly, what are its future plans? In the best sense of the word, Fuduntu could still be called an amateur's distribution, in that Wyatt describes the motivation of the project members as "to have fun and to build a fantastic desktop that works for us." However, the price of popularity is increased costs, including new dedicated build hosts. Coping with its unexpected popularity, the Fuduntu team tries to minimize costs by hosting the project on SourceForge and by what Wyatt calls a "lights out policy," explaining that "there is a script that runs on each of the build hosts, and, if certain criteria are met (no users or screen sessions, [or an] idle processor), it will automatically power off after testing for the conditions three times over a period of 15 minutes." These efforts, Wyatt says ensure that "My monthly out of pocket spending is reasonable. The project expenses are mostly covered through Google AdSense, and project donations." Having just switched from relying on Fedora 14's repositories to hosting its own, Fuduntu's immediate priority is to add source packages to its offerings. However, in the longer term, the distribution's policy seems to consist of "wait and see", as Wyatt described:
While we will always follow what everyone else is doing, and perhaps pull
in ideas that make sense, I believe we have a solid foundation today. I
don't see too many major changes in the near term, because everyone seems
to be happy where we are today. For the moment, our direction is to simply
roll forward, continuing our philosophy of making small incremental
improvements that minimize impact to our user base.
In other words, Fuduntu seems, both financially and philosophically, likely to continue much as it has been for the immediate future. Although its long term development is less clear, for now Fuduntu seems to be delivering what both its contributors and users want.
Brief items Distribution quotes of the week
In what feels like Day 5 in a two-day weekend, the system now boots! I
actually see a new grub (wait, why is that text-mode only again ? Fedora
guys, you spent years to make everything look graphical, because that was
some huge important feature that mostly got in my way when it took longer
than it was supposed to and I had no way to see why except reboot and
remove quiet and rhgb from the options) and now you suddenly let grub2 take
that back from you? Show us some spine, please), and the system shows me
plymouth again. Until it doesn't anymore, and drops me into a terminal
screen.
-- Thomas Vander Stichele
You know, this Fedora 16 better be frigging spectacular after this six day weekend.
Gentoo users are what Arch Linux users imagine themselves to be: real
men. You don't even get in their club unless you pass through the Klingon
pain stick ritual, where if you come out alive at all, you've at
least bludgeoned, bruised and bloody. What doesn't kill you makes you
stronger. And those who survive, are brothers.
-- Mark
Rushing
... Gentoo is a warrior, a kung fu master who can juggle the primal elements, and teaches you by forcing you to confront yourself. It doesn't matter if you're male or female. It's the essence that counts. And if that essence isn't strong, persistent and true, you will break. That is the beauty. That is what binds us together.
Android 4.0 source releasedIt has happened: the source for Android 4.0.1 ("ice cream sandwich") is being pushed to the repositories. "This release includes the full history of the Android source code tree, which naturally includes all the source code for the Honeycomb releases. However, since Honeycomb was a little incomplete, we want everyone to focus on Ice Cream Sandwich. So, we haven't created any tags that correspond to the Honeycomb releases (even though the changes are present in the history.)" Anxious downloaders should try to wait, though, until the Android folks have signaled that the push is complete.
Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2011Mandriva has released Mandriva Powerpack 2011. Included in the announcement is the news that Mandriva is now aiming for a one-year period between major releases, with updated versions released every 6 months. "Quicker, easier and more secure than ever, Mandriva Linux offers new functionalities which revolutionize the desktop. Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2011 is the most advanced Linux Operating System to date, a genuine concentration of technologies and innovations. It supports a wide panel of hardware configurations, making it a stable base for users. It combines simplicity with conviviality in an intuitive, high performing environment. It is the ideal distribution for all users, from the beginner to the most advanced."
openSUSE 12.1 releasedopenSUSE 12.1 has been released. There's a lot of new stuff, much of which has the "cloud" label attached to it, but also including the Go programming language, GNOME 3.2, color management in both GNOME and KDE, and more. "openSUSE 12.1 includes Snapper, a new and unique tool that employs the snapshot functionality in btrfs to allow users to view older versions of files and revert changes. The integration of Snapper into the zypper package manager allows users to roll back system updates and configuration changes." Some more information can be found on the openSUSE 12.1 page and the product highlights page.
Oracle Solaris 11Oracle has announced the release of Oracle Solaris 11. "Oracle Solaris 11 is designed to meet the security, performance and scalability requirements of cloud-based deployments allowing customers to run their most demanding enterprise applications in private, hybrid, or public clouds." See the release notes for more information.
First release candidate for UCS 3.0 is now availableUnivention Corporate Server (UCS) 3.0 RC, a distribution based on Debian squeeze, is available for testing. "UCS 3.0 will be the first commercial product to integrate "Samba 4", the next generation of Open Source software for the provision of Microsoft-compatible services for Windows clients. With UCS 3.0, it is even possible to construct more complex Active Directory domains and provide the services required for the operation of new Microsoft Windows operating systems such as Kerberos authentication and the assignment of group policies. Alternatively, the domain services already included in UCS 2.x based on Samba 3.x can also continue to be used."
Distribution News Debian GNU/Linux bits from the DPL for October 2011October has been a busy month for Debian Project Leader Stefano Zacchiroli. Highlights include the New Member process, Ubuntu Developer Summit, and "Easy Hacks" and Google Code-In. "Another interesting evolution on [the Ubuntu] front is that Ubuntu is going to deprecate their (universe) package review platform (REVU) and converge with us on mentors.d.n."
Fedora Cooperative Bug Isolation for Fedora 16The Cooperative Bug Isolation Project (CBI) is now available for Fedora 16. "CBI is an ongoing research effort to find and fix bugs in the real world. We distribute specially modified versions of popular open source software packages. These special versions monitor their own behavior while they run, and report back how they work (or how they fail to work) in the hands of real users like you. Even if you've never written a line of code in your life, you can help make things better for everyone simply by using our special bug-hunting packages."
Elections update and town hall meetings scheduleFedora elections for seats on FAmSCo, FESCo, and the Fedora Board are underway. Candidate answers the election questionnaire have been posted and Town Hall meetings have been scheduled.
openSUSE Continuous Integration testing for openSUSEDevelopment of Open Build Service (OBS) is test-driven and major parts are covered by a comprehensive test-suite. These tests have, in the past, been run by a custom shell-script on a local machine that wasn't publicly available. The OBS-team has introduced a new public interface for Continuous Integration (CI) testing. "Behind the scenes, we are using Jenkins, probably the most prominent open source CI tool available. Currently, the OBS and osc/osc2 code bases are tested, but we would like to see more openSUSE projects utilize ci.opensuse.org. In the future, we also want to test the RPMs (and appliances) for new OBS releases."
Newsletters and articles of interest Distribution newsletters
Hertzog: 20 Things to Learn About APTA free chapter of the Debian Administrator's Handbook is available. This chapter covers the APT family of tools: apt-get, aptitude, synaptic, update-manager, etc. As previously reported, a fundraising campaign is underway to translate the book into English and to make it freely available online. "Thanks to everybody, we have reached our first target and the book translation will happen. But this story is not yet over and we still need your support to reach the second goal, the liberation of the book."
openSUSE 12.1 Arrives: What's New and What Happened to 12.0? (Linux.com)Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier takes a look at openSUSE 12.1. "openSUSE is also getting smarter about managing kernel upgrades. With 12.1, Poortvliet told me that Zypper now has an option (which isn't yet the default) to keep an older kernel until the system has successfully booted into an upgraded kernel. This solves the problem of systems being rendered unbootable because of a new kernel that has a hardware conflict of some sort. Right now, it's not the default, but users can enable this so that they can delete the old kernel after a successful boot - or keep up to two old kernels indefinitely. Speaking of kernels, openSUSE 12.1 comes with Linux 3.1. It also features a new init system pioneered by Fedora, systemd."
Get an Early Taste of Linux Mint 12 (PCWorld)PCWorld looks at new features coming in Linux Mint 12, due for release later this month. "Linux Mint 12 will ease the transition to the controversial new GNOME 3 desktop by adding a layer on top that lets you use GNOME 3 in a traditional way. MGSE, or Mint GNOME Shell Extensions, is the name of that layer, and it gives users numerous options with respect to GNOME 3. For a full-fledged GNOME 3 experience, for instance, users can disable all MGSE components; conversely, by enabling all of them you'll get a GNOME 3 desktop that's similar to what you've been using before. Alternatively, users can also pick and choose which components they want to enable for a custom-designed "middle of the road.""
Page editor: Rebecca Sobol |
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