Distributions

Skolelinux/Debian-Edu and LinEx

The Skolelinux project got its start in Norway in 2001. At that time the initial goals included using a Debian-based distribution with applications localized in two Norwegian dialects, Bokmål and Nynorsk, and in the Northern Sami language. The solution was envisioned as a server with thin clients, well documented and easy to use. Any teacher, even those without computer experience, should be able to install the system and have it ready for students without much effort.

Skolelinux has been on the LWN Distribution list since before pre release 41 was announced (November 2, 2003). That was about the time that the Skolelinux project and the Debian-Edu project decided that one big project was better than two little projects. The merger of the two mailing lists was completed in early 2004.

Skipping forward to the present, Skolelinux/Debian-Edu 3.0 has been released. It is based on Debian 4.0 "etch" and therefore compatible with LSB 3.1, using kernel 2.6.18 and KDE 3.5.5. This new release has full support for networked thin clients, diskless clients, workstations and laptops. There are more than 80 instructional applications, translated to more than 50 languages. Skolelinux receives support from regional and national projects in Germany, Spain, France, Greece and Norway.

The next milestone for Skolelinux will be to merge the Debian based gnuLinEx distribution, which is used by more than 250,000 students and public employees in the region of Extremadura in Spain. According to the road map, the merger will start with the educational installations of LinEx in primary and secondary schools. LinEx has many other installations in health care, government and small business that will not be affected, at least in the early stages.

There are some differences between LinEx and Debian-Edu that will need to addressed during the merger. For example, LinEx does not currently support thin and diskless clients, or use web-based system administration. Also LinEx uses GNOME and Skolelinux KDE, so GNOME will need to be integrated into the final product. Ideally all the required packages would be in the Debian repository, but there are licensing issues with packages that use Squeak, Flash or Java and LinEx contains some Spanish documentation, tutorials and training courses that have restrictive licenses. There are other LinEx specific packages could go into the Debian repository, they just aren't there now. Currently there are different packages in LinEx and Debian-Edu that do the same task, so one may be chosen over the other.

There are hurdles to overcome, but one of the largest may be that of producing a system that is familiar and comfortable for the users of both LinEx and Skolelinux, and by users I mean the teachers and administrators. The students will adapt.

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Announcing openSUSE 10.3 Alpha6

The sixth alpha release of openSUSE 10.3 is out. "AJ used to write here, that he's glad to announce. I can't say I am - I am relieved I can announce openSUSE 10.3 Alpha6 to you. I didn't have a chance to put too much testing into more than the i586 DVD5 and the KDE CD. But I didn't want to wait any longer either. So I'm left with hoping the best."

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Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 3 released

The Gutsy Gibbon Tribe 3 CD images are available for Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu and Xubuntu. "Pre-releases of Gutsy are *not* encouraged for anyone needing a stable system or anyone who is not comfortable running into occasional, or even frequent breakage. They are, however, recommended for Ubuntu developers and those who want to help in testing, reporting, and fixing bugs."

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Canonical's Launchpad 1.1.7 release notes

Launchpad is a suite of development tools used in the creation of Ubuntu and related distributions. Version 1.1.7 is out with bug fixes and new features. Click below for the release notes.

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easyfedora 0.2

Easyfedora is a KDE application which will help you install more software and drivers on your Fedora system, quickly and easily. Version 0.2 was released under a proprietary license.

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Retiring Debian's sparc32 port

Last May we reported that Debian was thinking about dropping sparc32 support from Lenny. Since then no one has stepped up to maintain the port so it will be dropped. Newer sparc64 hardware will be supported.

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First call for votes: GR: Accept the concept of Debian Maintainers

On June 28, 2007 we took a look at a proposal for creating Debian Maintainers. A modified version of this proposal is now up for a vote.

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[Debian Installer] Experimental support for Serial ATA RAID (dmraid)

The Debian Installer team has announced that daily built images of Debian Installer (for Lenny) now include experimental support for installing Debian on systems configured with Serial ATA RAID, as supported in Linux by using the dmraid utility. These images need lots of testing and are currently available only for i386 and amd64.

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[RFH] Debian Listmaster team needs more manpower

The current Debian listmaster team needs a bit more manpower, so they are currently looking for 2-4 Debian Developers who would be willing to help out with listmastering. Click below for the job requirements.

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Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCo) Election Results

The FESCo election is over, and the members for the 2007/2008 FESCo are (in alphabetical order): Christopher Aillon, Josh Boyer, Tom Callaway, Kevin Fenzi, Dennis Gilmore, Christian Iseli, Jeremy Katz, Jesse Keating, Bill Nottingham, Brian Pepple, Jason Tibbitts, Warren Togami and David Woodhouse.

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news.opensuse.org goes live

The openSUSE News site has been launched. "We are happy to announce our new news.opensuse.org website. This news portal will provide the latest openSUSE news. We will continue to send important announcements to the opensuse-announce mailing list, but they should also be added to this site as well."

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openSUSE 10.2 PromoDVDs

Promotional DVDs of openSUSE 10.2 are available to those who will spread them around, particularly to openSUSE/Linux beginners. Click below to find how to get some.

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Fedora Weekly News Issue 97

The Fedora Weekly News for July 21, 2007 looks at the availability of fedorapeople.org, Smolt, Open Invitation, plus news from Planet Fedora, proposed Fedora 8 features, plans for tickless kernel for x86_64 architecture in Fedora 8, and several other topics.

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Ubuntu Weekly News: Issue #49

The Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter for July 21, 2007 covers the release of Gutsy Tribe 3, Canonical's launch of training courses, the first Ubuntu conference in Germany, a State of the Union Summary of the Ubuntu US Lo``Co Teams, the release of Launchpad 1.1.7, a new ATI driver in Gutsy, and much much more.

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DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 212

The DistroWatch Weekly for July 23, 2007 covers Sabayon Linux 1.0 "Business Edition", Puppy Linux 2.17, Gentoo Foundation, Debian tidbits, openSUSE News & Coolo, Linus Interview, and Too Many Distros?

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DSL answers user requests with 4.0 alpha (Linux.com)

Linux.com looks at the alpha release of Damn Small Linux (DSL) 4.0. "[DSL developer Robert] Shingledecker urged would-be testers to read the new Getting Started document. "There are many changes in icons, file manager, accessing menu and mydsl," he pointed out. He said he placed a minimal number of icons on the desktop so users could choose which applications they wanted. As DSL has four different installation methods -- LiveCD, Frugal, Hybrid, and Traditional -- Shingledecker asked that those posting bugs in the forum be sure to note which method they're using."

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New PC-BSD 1.4 beta includes enhanced desktop eye candy (Linux.com)

Linux.com looks at the release of PC-BSD 1.4 beta. "The new PC-BSD 1.4 beta, released last week, offers 3-D desktop support via Beryl as well as late-model components such as KDE 3.5.7, FreeBSD 6.2, Xorg 7.2, a selection of fresh GUI tools and utilities, and a variety of optional components, as detailed in the full release notes."

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Puppy 2.17 released (Linux.com)

Linux.com takes a quick look at Puppy Linux 2.17. "If you need a compact, streamlined distro capable of running on an aging machine, take a look at Puppy Linux 2.17, a fresh release containing a number of new features, including seriously upgraded printing capabilities and enhanced modem detection and configuration."

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Ubuntu Studio supports serious audio, adds little for video and graphics (Linux.com)

Linux.com reviews Ubuntu Studio. "The long and the short of it is that if you are a musician or audio enthusiast, Ubuntu Studio is a big win: you get a stable, tested, preconfigured source for the high-end audio components you need to do serious recording and editing, and you get it built upon one of today's most popular, well-supported mainstream distros. The millions of vanilla Ubuntu users on 32-bit Intel machines can add the Ubuntu Studio goodness with a simple cut-and-paste APT repository addition (instructions are at ubuntustudio.org) -- a far nicer alternative than installing a separate distro."

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openSUSE 10.3 Alpha 6 Report (TuxMachines)

TuxMachines reviews openSUSE 10.3 Alpha 6. "openSUSE 10.3 Alpha 6 appeared yesterday, the same day as the unveiling of the new openSUSE News portal. And that right after the big announcement that Andreas was handing over the reins of project manager to Coolo. I kinda expected Alpha 6 to be delayed by that latter news. It wasn't and it was a doozy too. The DVD deltaiso was over a one gig in size, so I was expecting some significant changes and improvements this time."

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eyeOS: A genuine Web OS (Linux.com)

Linux.com covers a web-based OS called eyeOS. "Unlike most Web desktops that require you to create an account and rely on their service, eyeOS offers you two options. The hosted version of eyeOS allows you to create a free account and use the system without getting your hands dirty installing, configuring, and maintaining it. The major drawback of using the hosted solution is that you can't log in as root, which means that you won't be able to install additional applications, among other things. Alternatively, you can install eyeOS on your own server, which gives you complete control over the system."

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