Distro watch
What’s behind the free software sofa?
ROCKY LINUX 8.5
A new version of this Red Hat Enterprise Linux clone, which is built from the upstream project’s source code, has been released. Rocky Linux 8.5 now supports Secure Boot, with Microsoft countersigning the project’s Secure Boot shim. Check out the full release notes at
https://docs.rockylinux.org/release_notes/8.5 for more information about what this new release brings, along with advice on validating the Secure Boot shim. There have also been various updates, such as PHP to 7.4.19, Mutt to 2.0.7 and new modules added as well.
LAKKA 3.6
Lakka 3.6 is now available. This lightweight Linux distro can be used to create games console-like devices thanks to a user-friendly interface and a focus on playing games. This new version comes with an updated RetroArch release – this is a frontend for various emulators, enabling you to play games from a range of games consoles. Mesa has been updated, as has the mainline kernel to 5.10.78, and the Raspberry Pi kernel and firmware has also been updated. If you fancy making a DIY retro games console, check out the release notes at https://bit.ly/lxf284lakka.
RASPBERRY Pi OS 2021-10-30
The latest version of the Debian-based Raspberry Pi OS has landed. As the name suggests, this is a distro that’s been made for the Raspberry Pi computers, and it’s now based on Debian 11. The new version updates all desktop components and applications to GTK+ 3, which is consistent with other Debian instances. However, that move has brought some issues, which this new release also addresses. You can find out more in the release announcement at https://bit.ly/lxf284raspberrypios.
Q4OS 4.7
This Debian-based distro, which comes with either the KDE Plasma or Trinity desktop environments, has received a new version that’s now available to download. Based on Debian 11.1, the Trinity desktop has been updated to R14.0.11 stable, which brings a bunch of bug fixes while ensuring overall system stability. As the release notes state (which you can read at https://bit. ly/lxf284q4os), this is a “significant update to the fourth Q4OS stable series,” and will be made available as an automatic update to users.