Debian derivatives
Devuan
The adoption of systemd caused passionate debate among Linux developers. The debate was especially heated in Debian, whose contributors have a reputation for being outspoken. To make matters worse, the vote on systemd was settled by the Technical Committee intervening. Upset by the decision to use systemd and perceiving a lack of democracy, a handful of developers founded Devuan (available on this month's DVD) [13].
Besides producing its own distribution, Devuan advocates for what it calls Init Freedom [14]: the right to start a computer with any init system except systemd. Currently, Devuan supports the old System V-style init, as well as OpenRC and runit
, with several other init systems also under consideration. In a 2019 vote, Debian turned down the idea of supporting multiple init systems, largely because it would complicate package maintenance. However, with far fewer developers than Debian, Devuan appears to manage the complication.
Debian Edu/Skolelinux
Debian Edu [15] today is the result of the merger of two derivatives in 2006: Skolelinux in Norway and Debian Edu in France. Supported by SLX Debian Labs, Debian Edu has two goals: to promote free software and to ensure that children everywhere can use a computer in their own language. Debian Edu supports both workstations and thin clients and their servers, as well as roaming workstations (workstations that are not always connected to the network). Each of these computer types has its own hardware and version of Debian Edu, in a sense making Debian Edu several distributions in one.
The applications included are largely geared towards education and creativity. Much of the education software is aimed at younger grades, including apps for learning the alphabet and fractions, although some are also included for learning geometry and graph analysis. For more advanced students, there is a drum machine and an app for writing music, while all students can benefit from chess and typing tutors.
Knoppix
Founded in September 2000 and named after its developer Klaus Knopper, Knoppix [16] is one of the oldest Debian derivatives. It can be installed to a hard drive, but was originally intended as a Live disc for system rescue, which is still its main purpose today. CD and DVD versions make Knoppix usable on most systems, as do a series of so-called cheat codes that can be entered at bootup to temporarily customize it. Knoppix is available in English and German locales and supports most Linux-compatible hardware of the last 20 years. I recommend always having a recent version on hand for emergencies.
« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.