14 DAY TRIAL // Welcome to the 160th issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly!
The following Linux-based operating systems have been announced last week: Tiny Core Linux 3.8, Gentoo Linux 11.2 LiveDVD, Monomaxos 6.0 and Network Security Toolkit 2.15.0. In other news: Softpedia prepared a Top 5 Ubuntu Alternatives article for newbies in Linux; Canonical announced the it will replace Evolution Mail and Calendar with the Mozilla Thunderbird mail client as default for Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot); Canonical implemented the new login manager for the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. For this week we've prepared an interesting review for the AssaultCube 1.1.0.4 game. The weekly ends with the video clip of the week, the new and updated Linux distributions, and the development releases.
Summary:
On August 6th, Robert Shingledecker announced the immediate availability for download of the Tiny Core Linux 3.8 operating system. The latest update brings several changes and enhancements to the core system and a few updated apps. There are also new icons for AppBrowser and AppAudit.
Highlights of Tiny Core Linux 3.8:
· AppsBrowser - clear Search&Provides field upon results. · search.sh - improved searching by title results and support for fat file-system. · mnttool - added a refresh button. · wbarconf - support for no initial .wbar · tce-load - now allows re-downloading non-installed extensions to better handle download failures. · tce-setup & tce-load to ensure busybox calls thus avoiding conflicts with various gnu utilities. · provides.sh - support for fat file-system. · tce-setup, tce-load, and loadpack.sh - alias for new depmod applet. · .profile - new user login sudo issue resolved. · rebuildfstab and tc-config for AOE support. · tc-functions getpassword to support backspace during input. · tce-setup for loading "tce" directory on cdrom and installable via updates to tc-install & tc-grub4dos.
Download Tiny Core Linux 3.8 now from Softpedia.
On August 7th, David Abbott announced the release of the Gentoo Linux 11.2 LiveDVD, which is an update to the venerable Linux distro that comes with plenty of new packages, Linux 3.0, KDE SC 4.7.0, GNOME 3 and much more.
The recently released Linux kernel 3.0 is included in Gentoo Linux 11.2, along with the specific Gentoo updates. In terms of desktop environments, the choice is rich, and you don't have to compromise with outdated versions, KDE SC 4.7.0, GNOME 3.0, Xfce 4.8 are just the three most popular options. LibreOffice 3.3 is available if you need a fully featured office suite, but there is also the option of alternative stand-alone apps, such as Abiword 2.8.6 and so on.
Download Gentoo Linux 11.2 LiveDVD now from Softpedia.
On August 8th, Dimitris Papadatos proudly announced the immediate availability for download of the Monomaxos 6.0 Linux distribution, which brings the same set of customizations and optimizations, that users have gotten used to, over to Ubuntu 11.04.
Monomaxos 6.0 comes with many of the usual enhancements this type of customized distros usually included, things like multimedia codecs out of the box and proprietary video drivers. Monomaxos comes with everything you'd expect from Ubuntu 11.04, though the Unity desktop environment has been replaced with a more traditional, in a way, Gnome + Avant Window Navigator combination.
Download Monomaxos 6.0 now from Softpedia.
On August 9th, Paul Blankenbaker announced the immediate availability for download of the Network Security Toolkit 2.15.0 operating system, which is based on Fedora 15 and brings all of the changes and new packages included in the latest Fedora release, including GNOME 3.0.
Network Security Toolkit 2.15.0 comes with the recently launched Linux kernel 3.0, which has been 'reversioned' as Linux kernel 2.6.40 in Fedora 15 for compatibility reasons. For all intents and purposes, though, it's the very latest kernel update. On top of its Fedora 15 roots, NST 2.15.0 comes with plenty of changes and updates of its own. There is a new Network Interface Bandwidth Monitor app, included in the NST WUI, built with SVJ/AJAX. This makes it possible to monitor network bandwidth though the web user interface.
Download Network Security Toolkit 2.15.0 now from Softpedia.
· On August 9th, Softpedia written an article to list five of the best alternative operating systems to the popular Ubuntu OS, personally selected by the author. We've written this article to help some of our readers in finding a good alternative to the current release of the Ubuntu operating system, because of the Unity interface. Read more about it here.
· On August 10th, Canonical decided to replace Evolution Email and Calendar with Mozilla Thunderbird as the default email client and calendaring software for the Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. This is not really out of the blue, as Mozilla Thunderbird has been already set as the default email client on two Alpha development releases of Ubuntu 11.10. Read more about it here.
· On August 11th, the brand-new display manager, LightDM, has been introduced by Canonical in the current development release of the Ubuntu 11.10 operating system. The new login manager of Ubuntu 11.10 has been introduced because we do need a nice and themeable login screen that matches the Unity interface. Read more about it here.
Review of the Week: AssaultCube 1.1.0.4
· AssaultCube has a little bit of history behind it. It started in 2004 when a small grup of members from the Cube community (another multiplayer first person shooter) developed their own version. At that time it was called ActionCube, but they had to change the name because it resonated too close with Action Quake.
AssaultCube has really accessible system requirements. The developer boasts that it will run on a Pentium III processor. It's hard to verify this claim because we haven't seen one of those CPUs in ages, but on a low end computer from our times it will run with over 100 FPS.
Read the entire review here.
Video Clip of the Week: Ubuntu 11.10 Latest Updates Revealed The New LightDM Login Theme
· For this week we've posted an 720p HD video clip that showcases the new login manager of the upcoming Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) operating system. The video has 1 minute and 57 seconds, and it was posted by LinuxNov. Enjoy!
· Zorin OS Educational Lite 5 · Android Theme OS 0.0.2 · KDECool Linux KDE4 VMWare/VirtualBox Image 0.0.2 · NodeZero 1.0 · GNOS 0.0.2 · Toorox 08.2011 Xfce / 08.2011 Lite
Distributions Updated Last Week:
· Vine Linux 6.0 · TurnKey Linux 11.2 · Redo Backup and Recovery 1.0.1 · PLoP Linux 4.1.2 · Berry Linux 1.11 · Ultimate Gamers Edition 3.0 · ConnochaetOS 0.9.0 · 4MLinux Game Edition 2.3 · Puppy Linux "Wary" 5.1.3 · wattOS R4 · Parsix Linux 3.7 · Frugalware Linux 1.5 · OpenXange 2011.08 · CacheGuard OS 5.7.3 · Linux Mint LXDE 11 · Salix OS KDE 13.37
· Chakra GNU/Linux 2011.09-ms3 · Dyne:bolic GNU/Linux 3.0 Beta 4 · Salix OS LXDE 13.37 RC1 · DRBL Live Xfce 1.0.6-4 · Clonezilla LiveCD 1.2.10-5 · BlankOn Sajadah 7.0 RC2
See you again at the end of next week for another issue of Softpedia Linux Weekly.