EndeavorOS 21.4 Has Arrived

If you prefer your Linux to be of the Arch-type, but don't want to go through the challenges inherent in installing the full-blown Arch Linux, you have options. One such option is EndeavorOS. Endeavor OS calls itself "terminal-centric." That doesn't mean you'll be spending all of your time within the terminal. In fact, I'd say that Endeavor OS labeling itself as such is a bit misleading. I've worked with the OS and found it quite easy to use.

But what does the new "Atlantis" version of EndeavorOS have to offer? First and foremost, it ships with kernel 5.15, which is bleeding edge. One very important feature found in this kernel is the newly written NTFS3 driver, which vastly improves how Linux can interact with NTFS filesystems.

Other improvements include a new sanity check for NVidia and kernel updates, improvements to the Welcome app, and the ability to easily delete the cache of uninstalled packages. In addition, the Calamares installer can read output from pacman actions, randomize EFI path naming, install Xfce and i3 at the same time, enable NVidia DRM mode setting by default. Also, Btrfs now uses zstd for installation on both SSDs and HDDs, PipeWire is now enabled by default, and Legacy/BIOS boot uses a fixed label name so it's now compatible with older BIOS systems.

To find out more about the Atlantis release of Endeavor OS, read through the release notes (https://endeavouros.com/news/the-atlantis-release-is-in-orbit/) and download an ISO for installation (https://endeavouros.com/latest-release/).

NixOS 21.11 Now Available for Download

NixOS is a bit different than most Linux distributions, because of a unique approach to package and configuration management. NixOS uses the Nix package manager to build everything – even the kernel. And even the entire system configuration (from fstab, users, services, firewalls, and more) is taken care of from within a single, global configuration file. This one-two punch makes NixOS very complex. In fact, many consider it on the same level as Gentoo.

In other words, NixOS is not for the faint of heart.

With NixOS 21.11, there are plenty of new features to be found, including kernel 5.10, nf_tables (in place of iptables), KDE Plasma on Wayland, PHP 8.0, Python 3.9, PostgreSQL 13, Spark 3, Bash 5.0, Gnome 41, systemd 249, Pantheon 6, Kubernetes Helm 3.7.0, OpenSSH 8.8p1, and general LXD improvement.

The one piece of the puzzle that was not upgraded was Nix. Because of regressions in non-experimental behaviors, NixOS ships with Nix 2.3.16 (instead of the latest version, 2.4).

Download your copy of NixOS from the official download page (https://nixos.org/download.html) and read the release notes (https://nixos.org/manual/nixos/stable/release-notes.html#sec-release-21.11) for more information.

KDE Plasma Developers Introduce a Gnome-Like Overview

KDE Plasma is a very user-friendly desktop interface found on several popular Linux distributions. But there are a couple of features that have needed some slight tweaking for a while. Those features are how users interact with both activities and virtual desktops.

With the release of KDE Plasma 5.24, that all changes as both features are getting a rather Gnome-like makeover. A new overview screen will offer a full-screen view of both virtual desktops and all currently open applications. Along with these two features, a search bar will be included with the overview that allows users to find applications, files, browser tabs, documents, and more.

Although this might require longtime users to have to adjust their workflows, if the implementation is as successful as what Gnome did with version 40, most will be quite happy with how efficient it is.

KDE Plasma 5.24 is set to release February 3, 2022, and will include other new features, such as custom highlighting, DRM lease, fingerprint reader support, support for the NVidia driver's GBM back end, new screenshot features in Spectacle, and a global keyboard shortcut to move a window to the center of the screen, as well as plenty of bug fixes and performance improvements.