Bringing distros together on the same desktop
blendOS

© Photo by Daniel Olah on Unsplash
blendOS uses container technology to allow different distributions to coexist on a single desktop environment. Bruce talks to Rudra Saraswat, blendOS's 13-year-old developer.
Although several hundred Linux distributions already exist, new technologies and purposes are constantly spurring the creation of more. One of the most ambitious new efforts to emerge recently is blendOS [1], which uses container technology to allow packages from different distributions, as well as Android, to coexist in a single desktop environment (Figure 1). The result is ideal both for developers who package for different distributions and for everyday users who want the latest releases.
As I write, blendOS is little more than a year old, with the latest version released in May 2023. Based on Arch Linux, blendOS currently supports Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Kali Linux, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux, with the potential to support even more distributions. blendOS also features a minimalist install (Figure 2), graphical tools to create containers and connect to Android stores, and clear and comprehensive online documentation [2].
[...]
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.

News
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
LibreOffice Tested as Possible Office 365 Alternative
Another major organization has decided to test the possibility of migrating from Microsoft's Office 365 to LibreOffice.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.