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See also: last week's Distributions page.

Lists of Distributions
distrowatch
ibiblio
Kernelnotes
Linux.com
LinuxLinks
Woven Goods

Embedded Distributions:
3ilinux
Bifrost

BluePoint Embedded
Compact Linux
Coollinux
DSPLinux
ELinOS
ELKS
Embedded Debian
Embedix
Etlinux
FlightLinux
Hard Hat Linux
Jailbait
Linux/Coldfire
LEM
Midori
NeoLinux
OnCore Systems
PeeWeeLinux
RedBlue Linux
RedIce-Linux
Royal Linux
RTLinux
Tynux
uClinux
White Dwarf Linux

Handhelds/PDAs
Agenda-VR
Familiar (iPAQ)
Intimate (iPAQ)
Linux DA
PocketLinux
PsiLinux

Secured Distributions:
Astaro Security
Castle
Engarde Secure Linux
Immunix
Kaladix Linux
NSA Security Enhanced
Openwall GNU/Linux
Trustix

Special Purpose/Mini
2-Disk Xwindow System
Mindi Linux
SmoothWall

Floppy-based
Brutalware
BYLD
Coyote Linux
DLX
Fd Linux
Fli4l (Floppy ISDN/DSL)
floppyfw
Floppix
FREESCO
Linux in a Pillbox (LIAP)
Linux Router Project
LOAF
muLinux
Nuclinux
Proxyfloppy
ShareTheNet
Small Linux
Tomsrtbt
Viralinux_II

CD-based
BasicLinux
BBLCD Toolkit
CDLinux
Crash Recovery Kit
DemoLinux
Devil-Linux
Finnix
Gibraltar
innominate Bootable Business Card
Linuxcare Bootable Business Card
LNX-BBC
MkCDrec
RunOnCD
Sentry Firewall
SuperRescue
Timo's Rescue CD
Ututo
Virtual Linux

Zip disk-based
NBROK
ZipSlack

Small Disk
hal91
MicroLinux
--> Peanut Linux
PKLinux
Relax Linux
TA-Linux
Tomukas
ttylinux
VectorLinux

Wireless
Bambi Linux
Flying Linux

Hardware-specific
(ARM)
ARM Linux
(Beowulf)
Scyld Beowulf
(IBM)
Think Blue Linux
(Oracle's NIC)
NIC Linux
(PA-RISC)
PA-RISC Linux
(Playstation)
Runix
(PowerPC)
Black Lab Linux
LinuxPPC
MkLinux
Yellow Dog
(Sparc)
Splack
UltraLinux
(Older Intel)
ClarkConnect
Monkey Linux
TINY

DOS/Windows install
Armed Linux
DragonLinux
Phat Linux

Diskless Terminal
GNU/Linux TerminalServer for Schools
K12LTSP
LTSP
Pygmy
Xdenu

Distributions


Please note that security updates from the various distributions are covered in the security section.

News and Editorials

Is Early Release Good for MandrakeSoft?. Displaying how much Linux-Mandrake users tend to care about their distribution and the health of MandrakeSoft, the company that produces it, this thread appeared on MandrakeForum to discuss whether or not MandrakeSoft's provision of free ISO downloads for upcoming releases is a good idea or not, from a financial standpoint.

For example, the Linux-Mandrake 8.0 boxed just became available for purchase this week, but the ISO version of the two CD set was made available three weeks ago. For those three weeks, the only way to get a hold of the new distribution was either by downloading it for free or buying it from a reseller like CheapBytes. Neither option generates revenue for MandrakeSoft. A lot of arguments were made in favor of schemes to encourage, reward or require people to buy the official boxed sets instead.

The official comment in return was that MandrakeSoft is confident that wide distribution of Linux-Mandrake, no matter in what manner, will boost the popularity of the distribution and eventually boost sales. In the meantime, customers that want to make sure MandrakeSoft benefits when they download the software can do that by making a direct donation.

At the current time, three of the leading Linux distributors, MandrakeSoft, SuSE and Red Hat, are each choosing very different approaches to the problem. SuSE has placed a restrictive license on their installer and, as a result, prohibits the redistribution of their ISO images by resellers like CheapBytes. Red Hat makes beta versions of their upcoming distributions available, but the final version is held back so that it can be released at the same time the boxed sets become available.

In the next couple of years, we'll get the chance to see exactly which of these business models appears to work the best, another example of competition at work.

HP selects Debian as prime distribution. HP voice for Open Source, Bruce Perens, has announced that HP is making Debian its prime target for Linux support, though the company has no plans on abandoning other distributions. "HP has already started vending Debian to customers, and will be offering Debian support and training. This does _not_ mean that HP will de-support other Linux distributions. HP certifies its hardware with several distributions. In our software production process, we will handle differences between Linux package formats and the package dependency tree. As LSB continues to develop, we hope to get out of certifying for individual distributions and producing variant packages. Thus, supporting LSB is now a priority for HP."

As with Corel's decision to base Corel Linux on Debian, HP's decision is rooted in the non-commercial nature of Debian development. Although Debian is the base for commercial distributions like Progeny GNU/Linux and LibraNet, Debian itself is not in the business of making money. That means that monetary issues will not pollute the development stream. It means that HP's engineers can earn their status as Debian developers and receive the same privileges as any other Debian developer.

In addition, HP also cited the Debian Free Software Guidelines as part of their reason for choosing the distribution. The careful (some might call obsessed) work done to separate out software whose licenses are not fully Free guarantees redistribution of Debian without restriction or fear of legal repercussions.

Perhaps most of all, this reflects HP's status as an engineering company. They have chosen the distribution that, for them, is best for their purposes. They are not worried about having a distribution that has been enhanced to appeal to novice users; they are concerned about one that their own engineers can work with and collaborate on freely.

In fact, one might speculate that if Debian GNU/Linux did not exist, HP would have felt compelled to develop their own distribution, in order to guarantee that their own developers would have full access and privileges in the development process. Given the number of distributions we already track, it is nice to see multiple companies able to support a single distribution with confidence.

Argentina Embraces the Penguin (Wired). Wired News covers the influx of a penguin (Tux) in Argentina. "... the penguin named Tux is starting to draw a lot of attention, because a professor at the Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa) is distributing the Linux OS -- whose mascot is Tux -- throughout this region. The distribution is called Ututo, named for a fidgety local lizard that pokes its nose into every hole and is never at rest."

Check the February 8th LWN Distributions Summary for our coverage of Ututo. It is designed to run directly off of a CD, in order to eliminate the installation hurdle for new and inexperienced computer users.

New Distributions

Openwall GNU/Linux. Openwall GNU/Linux, also known as "Owl", has announced their first pre-release. Owl is a security-enhanced Linux distribution, with its primary focus being pro-active source code review, plus some security-hardening kernel patches. The system is designed to be rebuilt easily entirely from source code and supports both the Intel and Sparc platforms. It uses the RPM package manager and tries to be compatible with multiple other Linux distributions, particularly Red Hat.

Distribution News

Debian News. The Debian project has announced it will be attending two shows in Germany this month: Internet World Berlin and Magdeburger Linuxtage.

Meanwhile, this week's Debian Weekly News is out, with more news on plans for the upcoming release of Woody. In addition, a first mention is made of plans for the release after Woody. A whole new design is planned for the Debian-installer.

Bill Bennet has written an article on using rsync to get a Debian CD image file. The goal is to spread the load among all the Debian mirror sites instead of hammering just the Debian ISO mirrors.

The May 15th Kernel Cousin Debian Hurd is out and available, displaying fairly strong development activity.

Linux-Mandrake News. MandrakeSoft announced the immediate availability of boxed sets of Linux-Mandrake Version 8.0 (Standard, PowerPack and ProSuite Editions) in retail outlets.

SuSE News. SuSE announced this week that SuSE Linux is ready to run on the IBM iSeries, the hardware series previously known as AS/400. According to their press release, SuSE is the first Linux distribution to run on this platform, which is aimed at enterprise-level ecommerce customers.

Slackware News. The version of mc in slackware-current has been downgraded due to complaints about the latest version combined with a belief that the problems were not likely to get fixed any time soon.

Other upgrades include WindowMaker, proftpd (including a fix for the globbing security vulnerability), Samba, OpenSSH, mysql and a number of other minor updates.

The Sparc port was also upgraded to Linux 2.2.19.

Yellow Dog News. TerraSoft put out a press release announcing their development freeze for the upcoming Yellow Dog Linux 2.0 release. As a result, Yellow Dog Linux should be available on-line and via resellers within roughly two weeks.

SuperRescue CD News. SuperRescue CD 2.0.0 was released on Friday, May 11th. The new release is based on Red Hat 7.1.

Hard Hat News. MontaVista Software announced this week Hard Hat Linux support for the IBM NP4GS3 network processor. "IBM's PowerNP reference platform is an integrated hardware, software and services platform, featuring a packet routing switch module along with a PowerPC control point microprocessor. It allows equipment manufacturers to configure a 'real world' network switch or router environment to conduct thorough development, integration and testing before building their products".

MSC.Linux News. MSC has announced the release of a new version of its MSC.Linux distribution, which is oriented toward cluster deployments.

DSPLinux News. DSPLinux is an interesting distribution from a marketing perspective. Their press releases sometimes almost miss our screen for distribution news because they market DSPLinux as a software development kit (SDK) rather than an operating system or distribution. Nonetheless, it comes complete with kernel, so it is a Linux distribution.

This week, RidgeRun, the company behind DSPLinux, announced DSPLinux SDK Release 1.0. It uses the Linux 2.4 kernel, standard GNU development tools and their Appliance Simulator. "The Appliance Simulator allows developers to run the DSPLinux OS within a simulation environment that models a real embedded device. Developers can create, debug, and fully simulate a host of embedded appliances, all before target hardware development systems are required".

The Appliance Simulator is one of four proprietary products that are included with DSPLinux. The resulting bundle is sold for $5,000 per developer seat, a wee bit more than the cost of the average Linux distribution.

Minor Distribution updates

Distribution Reviews

Progeny GNU/Linux, based on Debian, was the focus of multiple reviewers this week.

Progeny Debian (ZDNet). ZDNet Reviews examines the Progeny GNU/Linux distribution. "Progeny's installer isn't perfect, but it gives Red Hat's a run for its money, offering both text and graphical modes. The installer works equally well when booted from a floppy or a CD, and it supports network installations. Hardware detection was passable; mouse, video, and USB detection was good; but sound and PCMCIA devices were problematic."

Progeny Debian 1.0 Linux (LinuxLookup). LinuxLookup reviews Progeny Debian 1.0. "Progeny did a great job on their distribution. They take pride in their quote 'Leading edge, not bleeding edge'. Basically they chose not to package all of the latest program versions. Instead they used the 'tried and true' method and created a very stable Linux distribution, one that beginners can install with little trouble."

Section Editor: Liz Coolbaugh


May 17, 2001

Please note that not every distribution will show up every week. Only distributions with recent news to report will be listed.


Leading
Caldera OpenLinux
Debian GNU/Linux
Linux-Mandrake
Red Hat
Slackware
SuSE
TurboLinux

Also well-known
ASPLinux
Best Linux
Conectiva Linux
e-smith

Progeny
Rock Linux

Non-technical desktop
easyLinux
Icepack Linux
Independence
LibraNet
Redmond Linux
WinSlack

Education
Boston University
kmLinux
LinuxFromScratch
OpenClassroom
Red Escolar

General Purpose
Alzza Linux
aXon Linux
Bad Penguin Linux
BearOps
Black Cat Linux
BluePoint Linux
BYO Linux
CAEN Linux
Cafe Linux
ChainSaw Linux
Circle MUDLinux
cLIeNUX
Complete Linux
Console Linux
Corel Linux
CRUX
Darkstar Linux
DLite
easyLinux
Elfstone Linux
ESware Linux
Eurielec Linux
eXecutive Linux
Fried Chicken
FTOSX
FullPliant
Gentoo
Go!Linux
HA Linux
Halloween Linux
HispaFuentes
IceLinux
Ivrix
ix86 Linux
J-LINUX
JBLinux
Jurix
KRUD
KSI-Linux
Lanthan Linux
Laonux
LASER5
Leetnux
Linpus Linux
Linux Cyrillic Edition
Linux MLD
LinuxOne OS
LinuxPPP
Linux Pro Plus
Linux-SIS
LNX System
LoopLinux
LSD
Lute Linux
MageNet
Mastodon
MaxOS
minilinux
MSC.Linux

NoMad Linux
Omoikane GNU/Linux
PingOO Linux
Plamo Linux
PLD
Project Ballantain
PROSA
Rabid Squirrel
Repairlix
Root Linux
Scrudgeware
Serial Terminal
Sorcerer
spyLinux
Stampede
Stataboware
TechLinux
TimeSys Linux/RT
Tom Linux
Trinux
Turkuaz
Ute-Linux
VA-enhanced Red Hat
Vine Linux
Virtual Linux
WholeLinux
WinLinux 2000
XTeamLinux
ZipSpeak

Country-specific
Argentina
GNU/Linux Ututo
Britain
Definite Linux
Eridani
China
COSIX
Red Flag
France
Linux/MNIS
Italy
LinuxEspresso
Madeinlinux
Vedova
Spain
Linux Esware
Thailand
Kaiwal Linux
Thai Linux Extension

Related Projects
Chinese Linux Extension

Historical (Non-active)
Dualix
Gentus
Giotto
MCC Interim Linux
OS2000
Storm Linux


 

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