DistroWatch Weekly No. 418 Highligts

It's that time of week again (though I've missed the last couple of issues). The highligts of this weeks DistroWatch Weekly for for fans of lightweight distributions include:

• Toorox "Xfce" and "Lite" versions. Apparently, Toorox is a Gentoo-based distro. Despite the naming, both of these versions have Xfce as the default desktop. However, the Lite version swaps out several resource-hungry applications for lighter alternatives.
• ConnochaetOS. This is a superlight distro intended to run on old computers (as little as 64 MB of RAM on a Pentium I processor).
• Puppy Linux 5.1.3 "Wary." The Wary version of Puppy Linux is also supposed to be optimized for very old computers.
• WattOS R4. I had already spotted this one and written a brief post about it. However, DistroWatch Weekly thoughtfully included a screenshot of the default desktop. Insectophobes beware. 

DistroWatch Weekly No. 418.

DistroWatch Weekly No. 414

The biggest news about lightweight distributions in this week's DistroWatch Weekly is the release of several versions of Sabayon Linux 6 featuring lightweight desktops:

Fabio Erculiani has announced the availability of three new Sabayon Linux 6 spins, featuring the Enlightenment 17, LXDE and Xfce desktops....

Apparently, the LXDE version is supposed to be for older computers, the Xfce version for users seeking an alternative to GNOME 3 and Unity, and the Enlightenment version for adventurous users.

Aptosid is another lightweight distro released last week. It's based on Debian unstable and features the KDE and Xfce desktops.

Finally, PagugLinux 11.1, a "minimalist, Gentoo-based live CD featuring the Fluxbox window manager," was released.


DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 414, 18 July 2011

DistroWatch Weekly #412

There are two lightweight distribution highlights in this issue of Distrowatch Weekly:

• Lightweight Portable Security (LPS) 1.2.1. This is supposed to be a secure live CD that allows military members and others concerned about privacy and security (it's available to the public for download) to surf the web and work on confidential documents without worrying about compromising vital information. Ironically, LPS automatically logs its user in as root.
• Bodhi Linux for ARM processors. Jeff Hoogland has announced an alpha release of a version of Bodhi Linux for touchscreen devices running ARM processors. Unlike the standard version of Bodhi, this spin is based on Debian, not Ubuntu.

DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 412, 4 July 2011

DistroWatch Weekly Highlights

Lightweight-distro related news from the new DistroWatch Weekly:

• Tiny Core Linux gets a graphic installer (from Linux Journal)
• Puppy Linux 5.1.2 "Wary" released

This issue also notes the release of Bodhi Linux 1.1.0, which I mentioned in a previous post, and points to the Mark Shuttleworth interview I talked about here.

DistroWatch Weekly Issue 407

DistroWatch Weekly: Lubuntu Closer to Becoming "Official"

The new issue of DistroWatch Weekly is out. It looks like the only lightweight-distro news that I haven't commented on already is that Lubuntu appears to be closer to becoming an official Ubuntu derivative.

DW Weekly quotes this Lubuntu developer blog post, which quotes the following comment by Mark Shuttleworth:

Thanks for the great work and progress of Lubuntu in the past 2 years. The fact that you are now 100% in the archive, and using PPA's and other tools effectively, makes it possible for us to consider recognising Lubuntu as an official part of the project. ... From my perspective, I see no problem in providing Lubuntu with the means to book sessions at UDS, and for us to call attention to Lubuntu in the project release notes. ... Our goal with Ubuntu is to ensure that the archive contains the full richness of free software. LXDE is definitely part of that, and with the other desktop environments making greater demands on PC resources, LXDE has a continued role to play.

DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 403, 2 May 2011

DistroWatch Weekly's Crunchbang Review

The feature story in the latest DistroWatch Weely is a review of Crunchbang 10 by Jesse Smith (no relation). All in all, it wasn't a bad review, considering that the author only did surface-level research on the distro.

The most glaring error in the review is the Smith's puzzlement at the download page's declaration that "CrunchBang Linux could possibly make your computer go CRUNCH! BANG!" He correctly notes that it seems odd for a distro based on Debian stable to say such a thing about itself. Of course, it makes more sense if you know that previous editions were based on the less rock-solid Ubuntu. It's true that it's negligent to have that copy up on the download page, but Crunchbang is a one-man project, so a few slip-ups are understandable. To be fair, you can't expect a reviewer just coming to a product to know things like this off the bat, but would it have killed Smith to check the Crunchbang Wikipedia entry?

Smith does go on to list some of Crunchbang's best features, including the welcome script that gives new users the option to install several common software packages. He also (though possibly inadvertently) makes the point that the switch to a Debian stable base may confuse people about the distro's target audience. It appears to have been conceived as a distro for hardcore geeks who weren't afraid to risk wiping out all their data. Now it's just as usable to an average user who wants a stable, fast OS.

I like the fact that Smith tried to figure out what audience would like Crunchbang, rather than treating his own preferences as the gold standard. However, a little research in places like Wikipedia and the Crunchbang forums would have yielded a lot of useful information on that topic.