Upgrade Times the Big 2007 Q4 Release Rush Is Over
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Distrowatch This month’s news from the four corners of the Linux distro development world. LADISLAV BODNAR is a founder, maintainer, editor and janitor of DistroWatch.com. Upgrade times The big 2007 Q4 release rush is over. Which Linux Boycott Novell? distribution are you using to ring in the New Year? ovell’s signing of the infamous s has become customary at this time of the patent protection agreement year, all major Linux distributions released Nwith Microsoft split the open Anew versions of their flagship products. source software community into two OpenSUSE 10.3 was the first with a new single-CD camps. The first – and more vocal – installation media, followed by Mandriva 2008 and immediately called for a boycott of its reworked hardware detection subsystem and a Novell’s products as a form of protest simplified installer. Ubuntu then brought us against the deal. But the second group seamless 3D desktop integration courtesy of disagreed strongly; after all that Novell CompizFusion, before Fedora delivered its latest and has done for the Linux community, greatest, complimented by excellent artwork and a boycotting OpenSUSE just didn’t seem new sound server. like a smart action. So who is right? If all these features don’t seem all that exciting, In common with many, my opinion is it’s because they are not. This is not necessarily a that Novell was wrong to sign with bad thing, however, and certainly not the fault of the Microsoft. At the time when the Open developers. Originally, many of them were expected So many distros – which one is the best? Source developer community to focus on integrating the much-improved X.Org 7.3 desperately fights the introduction of into their distributions, with the eagerly anticipated software patents in Europe and other KDE 4.0 as the cherry on the top. Unfortunately, the was back to regain its rightful spot as one of the best regions, Novell (and subsequently former turned out to be unusually buggy, while the desktop Linux distros on the market! Xandros, Linspire and Turbolinux) latter got delayed by several months. Instead of The long awaited Ubuntu 7.10 followed, eagerly effectively legitimised Microsoft’s claim sitting idly, the developers turned their attention to anticipated by the desktop Linux community. The that Linux had infringed on a number of various improvements on the existing stable reason? A tasteful and unobtrusive integration of 3D its patents. Of course, in the absence of desktops. The result? A better integration of various desktop technologies, together with small beginner- any evidence, this is nothing more than components and a smoother user experience. friendly enhancements, such as the its migration the usual Microsoft FUD. OpenSUSE 10.3 was the first of the major assistant and desktop search features. And although That said, should we go as far as releases. Besides the usual back-end changes to its some users reported problems with upgrading the boycotting those Linux companies that package management and several new YaST distribution, most reviewers found ‘Gutsy’ to be one have signed the deal? That’s a tough modules, the project has embraced the concept of a of the most polished and best integrated Linux question to answer. Personally, I am not single-CD installation media and has also started desktops ever. Unfortunately, those who expected a fan of large-scale boycotts of entire working on an installable Live CD. However, when the Ubuntu’s sister projects – Kubuntu and Xubuntu – businesses and their products. final release came out, many users and reviewers to remain on equal footing with their older sibling However, given the choice of Free reported an unusually high number of bugs that were sorely disappointed after finding out that many operating systems and software we escaped the attention of the developers – an of the best new features were only designed for have today, I have to admit that I unexpected surprise given the distro’s traditionally Ubuntu and Gnome. consciously lean towards using a high quality control standards. On the positive side, Finally, it was Fedora’s turn to show off its efforts. distribution developed by one of the openSUSE has gone further than any other As with the other three distros, the developers companies that have openly and distribution in integrating some bits and pieces of working on Fedora 8 chose to focus on less visible unequivocally rejected Microsoft’s KDE 4.0 into its latest release. tasks, such as better support for popular laptops patent claims. Next, it was Mandriva 2008. Once again, the new and integration of the PulseAudio sound server, Red Hat, Canonical and Mandriva release didn’t feel like a major upgrade, but perhaps while its artwork team continued improving the have publicly refused to sign a similar as a result of some internal personnel changes (new visual experience of the desktop. However, Fedora agreement – risking facing potentially director of engineering, new lead developer, new bug still remains the only major distro that actively crippling lawsuits – but by standing up master), it was Mandriva’s first release in several discourages users from adding non-free software to to the powerful bully, they have earned years that received universal praise from its users. its product. Great for Free Software purists, but the respect of the Linux community. This was a welcome turn of events from a struggling anybody with modern desktop needs will need to [email protected] company. It almost felt as if the old Mandrake with visit the Livna.org repository to get the extra bells its community-oriented approach and desktop focus and whistles. 40 Linux Format January 2008 LXF101.dwatch Sec2:40 28/11/07 10:20:46 Distrowatch Be a Linux guru Click and burn elpicx 1.1 – a Live distro that helps NimbleX – easy compiling of custom preparing for the LPI certification exam. Live distros from within a friendly GUI. any IT job applicants hinking about creating a live without Linux certification CD designed to your exact Mwill struggle to get that Tneeds, but don’t feel like dream job. But which certification? learning a scripting language? Never There’s a good way to ensure that fear. Thanks to the NimbleX project, sleepless nights passed studying building a custom Live CD has thick manuals do not go to waste become easier than ever; as long as when the results are evaluated? The you know how to use a mouse, you distro-agnostic Linux Professional can compile your very own Live CD Institute (LPI) certification is – complete with any device drivers, popular, not easy to acquire: the LPI The elpicx live DVD showing two software packages desktop features failure rate is reportedly higher than LPI test simulators. and language localisation that you other certifications, including Red might need. Hat Certified Engineer (RHEL). 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A few the first ever Live CD that provides a an ideal practice medium for the two customisable in terms of number of minutes later, the live CD gets ready KDE desktop, but still fits into less most popular package management questions and time allowed to for download. This is a real, than 100MB of space. And for those formats – DEB and RPM. The answer them, but also include an Slackware-based live CD, but who just need a generic Slackware- comprehensive docs on the DVD has option that matches the real test instead of a generic image designed based Live CD, there is always the Linux Fundamentals, LPI exam environment as closely as possible. by a developer, it is customised to standard edition of NimbleX – a reference cards, training notes, exam A fantastic way to prepare for the the user’s exact needs. 200MB CD that comes with KDE preparation guides and exercises: the final test– enter the classroom with While Custom NimbleX is the and Fluxbox, excellent wireless most complete collection of Linux confidence of a student that knows project’s most impressive feature, it networking, full NTFS write support study material ever published on a they won’t fail. doesn’t stop there. A specialist and other useful features. bootable medium. www.elearnit.de/live_cds/elpicx/ edition of NimbleX called sub_100 is www.nimblex.net Distro usage statistics What is the market share of the various Rank Distribution Market share desktop Linux distributions? While it’s 1 Ubuntu 31.30% unlikely that anybody will ever come up with a reliable answer, there are data that 2 Debian 9.90% can shed some light on the subject. One of 3 OpenSUSE 7.40% these are web log analyses of Linux web sites. Since most distributions (with a 4 PCLinuxOS 6.10% notable exception of Slackware and 5 Fedora 3.80% Gentoo) identify themselves in their browsers (by modifying the so called user 6 Mandriva 3.50% agent string), it is possible to detect the 7 Linux Mint 3.40% market share of these distributions from web server logs.