Search Results for: debian

Debian is a great Linux distribution in its own right, but also, it serves as a solid base for many other distros. That's why when a new version of Debian is released, it has a huge impact across the Linux community.

Today, you can download the newest version of Debian 10 "Buster." Debian 10.2 is the latest and greatest, but it is hardly exciting. To be fair though, Debian point releases shouldn't really be seen as a source for new features. Instead, you should expect security updates and bugfixes. And this time, with version 10.2, we get many of them. In addition, Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) is being dropped from the ARMEL variant of Debian, but that really shouldn't have any impact on desktop users.

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MX Linux is apparently becoming increasingly more popular these days, and I am not really sure why. Lately, I have been testing out the open source operating system, and I simply don't understand the hype.

Xfce, which MX uses, remains one of the worst desktop environment for end users -- it is lightweight, but that aside, it offers nothing over the superior GNOME or KDE. If you own a HiDPI monitor (which more and more people have), Xfce remains a terrible experience.

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Another day, another Linux distribution. Yeah, it can get a bit tedious reading about so many operating systems based on the open source kernel, so here at BetaNews we typically try to inform you about the better ones. You see, there are many garbage Linux distributions that can simply be ignored -- they are either low-quality or overly redundant. Ultimately, it all becomes noise, harming the Linux community overall. Yes, having too much choice can be a negative.

Today, a wildly popular operating system achieves Beta status, and you should be interested -- it is worth your attention. Called "MX Linux," it has quietly gained a fairly large following, topping the charts at the legendary DistroWatch. MX Linux 19 Beta 1 is based on Debian 10 Buster and features the recently released Xfce 4.14 desktop environment. So, yeah, this is fairly bleeding edge stuff, although the Linux kernel is only at 4.19.5.

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GNOME is undeniably the best desktop environment, but understandably, not everyone likes it. Hey, that's OK. Some folks like Pepsi despite Coke being, like, 1,000 times better. Such is life. Thankfully, with Linux, there are plenty of environments from which to choose, such as Xfce, Cinnamon, and KDE to name a few.

If you are a fan of KDE, or interested in sampling it for the first time, Netrunner is a Linux-based operating system you have to try. Quite frankly, this distro offers the greatest implementation of KDE Plasma. But that's not all -- it is one of the best Linux distros overall. It is chock full of useful software and is extremely polished, making it a great choice for those switching from Windows, but also, it is a solid choice for Linux experts. Today, Netrunner 19.08 "Indigo" becomes available for download.

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deepin is the most beautiful desktop operating system on the planet, besting both macOS, and Windows. Hell, it is even prettier than all other Linux distributions too. And yes, that matters. While an operating system shouldn't impede productivity or behave obnoxiously, it should inspire the user. deepin does this.

Today, the Debian-based deepin 15.11 becomes available, and it looks like another winner. While not radically different from deepin 15.10, it has enough bug fixes and additions to make it worthwhile. For instance, even though optical discs (CD, DVD, Blu-ray, etc.) are dramatically declining in popularity (near obsolete), the deepin devs have intergrated disc-burning into the distro's file manager. More exciting, however, is cloud sync for Control Center, which will make it easier to restore settings on a fresh installation or when logging into a shared machine.

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Debian is one of the most important operating systems, as so many other Linux distributions (such as Ubuntu) are based on it. In other words, it is part of the foundation that holds up many distros. With that said, it is a great operating system in its own right -- many folks depend on it daily.

Today, Debian reaches a significant milestone -- version 10. Yes, Debian is finally in the double digits. Believe it or not, development of Debian 10 (code-named "Buster") took more than two years! In fact, more than 60 percent of all packages have been updated since its predecessor. Probably the most significant update, however, is Wayland finally being the new default display server for the GNOME desktop environment.

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When it comes to Linux, I prefer my distributions to be no-nonsense -- Fedora is my favorite distro, for instance. Is Fedora boring? Yes, I suppose. But that is sort of why I like it. Look, I just want the damn operating system to take a backseat to my actual work. Fedora with GNOME allows me to focus on my tasks without getting in the way.

Understandably though, some Linux users like to "distro hop" where they are constantly moving between distributions, always wondering if the grass is greener on the other side. And yeah, I get that -- new is fun. People want excitement.

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If you're not in the habit of keeping up to date with the latest version of the Linux kernel, now might be a good time to think about doing so. Systems based on versions of the kernel older than 5.0.8 suffer from a severe flaw in the implementation of RDS over TCP.

Left unpatched, the flaw could enable an attacker to compromise a system. The National Vulnerability Database entry says: "There is a race condition leading to a use-after-free, related to net namespace cleanup".

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With the Linux Mint development being severely strained, and the future of that particular operating system being in slight doubt, many Linux "haters" are seemingly taking pleasure. Hardcore fans of Microsoft Windows will point to the Mint situation as proof that Linux (and open source ideology overall) doesn't have a future on the desktop. Thankfully, these negative people couldn't be more wrong. Regardless of what happens with Mint, Linux still has a bright future -- not only on mobile and servers, but desktop too. Maybe that success will be Chrome OS or Android. Whatever. The point is, the open source Linux kernel cannot be stopped.

As people are concerned about Linux Mint, another distro has been gaining in popularity. While not new, the attention it gets has been growing lately. Called "MX Linux," it is based on the excellent Debian Stable and uses the lightweight Xfce desktop environment by default. If you are intrigued by this newly en vogue distro, I have good news -- a new version is available for download. While not a major release,the 18.2 ISO is chock full of changes, fixes, and of course, updated packages. If you hate systemd (as many do), I have good news -- it is not enabled by default (although it is included).

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There are many Linux distributions in the wild nowadays, but none are more beautiful than deepin. Even though I don't use the operating system regularly (I prefer Fedora and GNOME), I recognize deepin's beauty as second to none. Some people refuse to use the distro because its developers are in China, but in reality, it should be fine to use. Just like concerns about Huawei hardware, it is largely due to xenophobia.

While deepin has always seemed rock solid to me, its base of Debian unstable apparently made it less reliable than the developers liked. As a result, beginning with the new 15.9.2 beta, deepin is switching to Debian stable. In other words, the developers are not only focused on the superficial.

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Believe it or not, Google Summer of Code 2019 will be the 15 year anniversary of the open source student program. If you aren't familiar, this is a program where Google pairs university students with open source organizations to work together over the summer. Yes, I said working together -- the students don't just observe, they get to actively participate in important open source projects! How cool is that?

Today, Google announces all the organizations that have been accepted as GSoC mentors, and the Linux community is very well represented. In fact, two of the most significant Linux distributions -- Fedora and Debian -- are both participating. In addition, one of the most important Linux desktop environments, GNOME, is taking part too. Even KDE and The Linux Foundation are in the mix! With all of that said, Google Summer of Code is not a Linux-only affair -- open source is the overall star of the show.

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Linux Mint Debian Edition isn’t a very popular operating system. As you can imagine, the normal Linux Mint variant — which is based on Ubuntu — is used by far more people. It’s not hard to see why this is — the Linux Mint developers don’t really consider LMDE to be anything more than an experiment. You see, it serves as a contingency plan just in case Ubuntu development ever ceases.

With all of that said, there’s no reason why users shouldn’t give Linux Mint Debian Edition a try. Today, just in time for Labor Day Weekend, LMDE 3 “Cindy” finally sees release. With many people enjoying a long holiday weekend, it is the perfect opportunity to install the rolling release distro and play around with it!

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Debian is one of the most important open source projects ever. The Debian Linux operating system is extremely popular in its own right, but also, it is used as the base for countless other distributions. Ubuntu, for instance -- one of the most-used distros -- is Debian-based. Even Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu, also has a Debian edition. Not to mention, Raspbian -- the official Raspberry Pi OS -- which is based on Debian too.

Today, Debian is celebrating a very important milestone -- a 25th birthday! Yes, it is seriously that old -- its development was announced on August 16, 1993. Hell, many of its current users weren't even born then!

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Back in June, we reported that Linux Mint Debian Edition 3 BETA would be released in July. Well, LMDE 3 did make the deadline, albeit barely. Yes, today, on the final day of the month, the BETA version of the rolling release operating system becomes available.

Unlike the traditional Linux Mint operating system which is based on Ubuntu, LMDE is based on Debian. To be more precise, LMDE 3 BETA is based on Debian Stretch. While this Debian version of Mint is perfectly usable as a daily driver, its real focus is as a contingency plan in case development of Ubuntu ever ceases in the future.

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Debian 9 "Stretch" was released over a year ago -- time really flies! Since then, the wildly popular Linux distribution has been downloaded by countless users.

Today, the 5th "point" release becomes available. In other words, Debian Linux "Stetch" has reached an important milestone -- version 9.5 stable. The operating system is always improving with security updates and bug fixes, and 9.5 is no exception here. In fact, it includes a patch for Spectre V2. Also of significance, the Debian Installer has been given an update.

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