I used to run Libranet, but let's face it: K/Ubuntu has kicked Libranet's arse for quite some time, & it's not the only distro. There are plenty of other Debian-based distros out there who also kick Libranet's arse as well. It was nice back in the day, but it was slow to release the last version, & then the founder died, & now Tal - the founder's son - has decided to call it quits. Of course, it would be nice if he released the code to the community. That way, not everything's lost. But even so, let's all raise a glass to Libranet. It was nice while it lasted. (Check out all of our posts on Libranet.) ...

Relax, Libranetters - I'm not saying they are in trouble; I'm just saying they may be in trouble. That's all. Just askin' a question. First there's the Libranet restructuring newsletter that went out to all subscribers (including me); then there's the Libranet restructuring blog entry by Tal Danzig (who father, Jon, started the company and recently died of cancer) that contains a lot more personal info, and finally there's the Changes in life blog post by Daniel de Kok, one of the two Libranet developers announcing that he's moving on to other things. All in all, this is worrisome. It would really be too bad to lose Libranet - it's an excellent distro, with a vibrant community and excellent Debian compatability. Check out all my other posts on Libranet. ...

There's a new project (well, it's not that new, but still) that is working to write a book introducing Libranet. It's available in PDF & HTML, or as a DEB package, and you can get it at http://libranet-basics.berlios.de/. If you use Libranet, you really oughta check this one out. ...

I'm sorry to report that one of the founders of Libranet, one of the best Linux distros, has died at a young age. No other details are available at this time, except those you can find on the Libranet home page at http://www.libranet.com. ...

I'm cleaning out my bookmarks, Bloglines clippings, & del.icio.us links, & here are a bunch on Libranet. Enjoy! First Look at Libranet 3.0 A lengthy review of Libranet that ends with thumbs up. Libranet GNU/Linux 3.0 Screenshot Tour 88 screenshots of Libranet lovin'. Debian on Steroids III: Libranet 3.0 The venerable Linux Journal reviews Libranet in a long, detailed review that is very positive … but some of the comments tell a different story. (Check out all of my posts on Libranet.) ...

Well I'll be danged - it finally happened! Libranet 3.0, my favorite Linux distro, is out and available for purchase & download! That's pretty funny, 'cause I literally was thinking as I woke up this morning, "If Libranet doesn't release today, that's it - I'm installing Kanotix on my laptop." Well, now Libranet goes on the laptop. I'll let y'all know how it goes. Some things to know about this distro: it's 5 CDs (!) or 1 DVD (yay!). I costs $65 if you're a student or if you're upgrading, or ~$80ish if you're a new purchaser. It has a radically improved Adminmenu (screenshots available here). And that's all I know right now - I'm downloading it as I post. I've almost brought down the 1st CD, which is enough to begin the install. This is very exciting! Woohoo! ...

I'm cleaning out my bookmarks, Bloglines clippings, & del.icio.us links, & here are a bunch on Libranet. Enjoy! A review on Libranet 3 The navigation & layout of this site are completely bizarre & nonintuitive, but the info is great. A long review, chock full o' details. I especially recommend the "Issues with Libranet GNU/Linux" page - many of his suggestions are spot on. My workstation OS: Libranet The dude use Libranet & likes it. Here's why. Review: Libranet 3.0 NewsForge reviews Libranet with its usual high quality. Worth reading. (Check out all of my posts on Libranet.) ...

The last time Debian released an official stable branch was in 2002. Yes, Woody is now almost 3 yrs old. Needless to say, this is not good for the Debian project at all. In the 3 yrs since Woody came out, we've seen many Debian-based distros charge out of the gates and adhere to a much faster release schedule, including Ubuntu, Linspire, and even Xandros. Now it seems that Debian leaders are finally waking up to the fact that release schedules that approach 3 yrs are equivalent to forever, and that perhaps supporting 11 different architectures (11!) may not be such a good idea. Elections are occuring right now that will determine the next Debian Project Leaders, and it seems like most of them want to drop some architectures and speed things up. Good. It's desperately needed. And while we're on the subject of release schedules, I'd like to throw in a word about Libranet, my (for now) favorite Debian-based distro. For now. I've been playing with Kanotix, and it's pretty darn slick and ...

Peter Besenbruch on the Libranet list tried out the Xfce windowmanager, and then wrote up a good overview of his impressions. I'm a KDE guy myself, & it looks like Peter is too, but it never hurts to try another environment out, as it gives you a better sense of the good & bad things of your chosen GUI, and it's also just good to know about all things Linux. Here's what Peter had to say about Xfce: ...

Peter Besenbruch on the Libranet list posted a nice explanation of the various Debian branches a while back, one that I thought y'all might find useful. If you're an old Debian dude, this won't be that helpful, but for a newbie or a Debian-curious individual, this should be a good starter. ...

As regular readers know, my fave distro is Debian, or anything Debian-based, primarily because of the awesome software installing & updating power of APT. Now, personally, I use APT on the command line; at least once per day, I run apt-get update && apt-get upgrade, & life is good. However, some folks prefer a GUI. For them, Synaptic is their tool of choice. TUX magazine just published a good intro to Synaptic that anyone interested in learning more should read: "Libranet: Installing Software the Easy Way". It's worth reading, & Synaptic is worth using. ...

Hey, I'm always looking for more cool blogs to subscribe to & read, & today I found one: The Ubuntu Blog. As regular readers know, I've switched over from Libranet to Kubuntu recently, & I really couldn't be happier. Now I have a cool, super-informative blog that will help me learn more about the distro I use, which is always a good thing. Anyone else got a good Linux blog they'd recommend? (Check out all of my posts on Ubuntu or Kubuntu.) ...

Firefox 1.0.4 is out now, for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. If you're using Windows, just look for the little red circle in the upper right of the browser window. Click on it, and update your browser. Pretty simple, really. If you're using Debian, like I am (actually, Libranet 3.0 & Kanotix), just do apt-get install mozilla-firefox -t unstable, & you'll have it in no time. I'm sure that Fedora Core & SUSE will both be pushing it out soon enough using their software update mechanisms (APT or YUM for FC, & YAST for SUSE). If you're using a Mac, I have no idea what to do. I haven't bought my Mini yet! Read the release notes, OK? It's just a good idea. Why 1.0.4? Well, it's to fix the security problems that were found recently. More on that later today. (Check out all my postings on Firefox.) ...

The knock on Debian has always been its installer, as in "Debian? Rock solid distro, really easy to update. Crappy installer, though." The Debian project took that criticism to heart, and in preparation for the soon-to-be-released Sarge, an easier-to-use installer has been a top focus. Last night I downloaded the 100+MB net installer ISO image of Sarge for 386-based machines, release candidate 2; tonight (Wednesday night) I booted off the CD I burned, only to find a pretty darn good installer! I'd never installed straight Debian successfully before (I always used Libranet, or some other reeeeeeaaaaaallllly (ridiculously) easy to install distro like Xandros or MEPIS), but I did tonight. Now, don't expect something slick & beautiful like SUSE, or even Fedora Core. No, the installer uses a curses interface, much like that of Libranet, or Red Hat from a few years ago. Frankly, though, I don't care. The dang thing works, with hardware autodetection, auto partitioning, and other hold-your-hand ...

Well, yesterday I installed the new MEPIS 2004.06, the latest version of the Debian-based distro, on one of my desktops at home. A few months ago I installed 2004.04, & I was not impressed. Shortly after a did an apt-get upgrade to the unstable (Sid) version of KDE, I couldn't log in any longer to KDE; after I fixed that mess, I found that KDE was borked. I'm typing this on a Libranet 2.8.1 install that has been updated to KDE 3.3.2 from Sid, and things are juuuuust fine. That's the word I found on the Net: MEPIS will bork when you upgrade it. Yup. That's what I saw. I upgraded 2004.06 to KDE from Sid, rebooted, held my breath … and things continued to work. So maybe MEPIS has fixed that little issue in the last couple of months. I dunno. But I do know what I saw, and what I saw was good. If you'd like to play with a good Debian-based system with sensible software defaults and an easy-as-pie installer (boot off the Live CD, log in as root, and click on the installer), check out MEPIS. ...