Distro watch
What’s behind the free software sofa?
EASYOS 5.7
EasyOS claims to be a standalone Linux distro, though it uses many of same technologies and package formats as Puppy Linux. This includes supporting containerisation of apps out of the box. Like Puppy, the OS can also load fully into RAM and can even disable write access to hard drives while doing so. It uses four package managers (PKGget, SFSget, Appi and Flappi), so you can install virtually any software. Find out more at https://easyos.org and read our in-depth feature on page 46.
SYSLINUXOS 12.3
SysLinuxOS is based on Debian 12 Bookworm. It’s primarily designed for system administrators, so includes a number of networking tools, such as VPN software, remote clients and various browsers. These are easily accessible via either the MATE or Gnome desktop environments (separate ISOs are available). New bundled apps include WoeUSB, Teams for Linux, Webex, GitHub Desktop, Wiregui and Timeshift. SysLinuxOS is a live distro but installation is supported via Calamares. Read more at https://syslinuxos.com.
KAOS 2024.01
KaOS is another independently developed distro, although its design is inspired by Arch Linux. It uses the Qt 6.6.1 and KDE Frameworks 5.249.0. KaOS now also incorporates the Plasma 6 desktop. The latest version also comes with an overhauled version of the OS’s own Midna theme. Given that it’s available as a pure Qt6/kf6 application, LibreOffice has now replaced Calligra as the default office suite. You can learn more at https://kaosx.us.
OPNSENSE 24.1 SAVVY SHARK
OPNSense is a FreeBSD-based OS designed specifically for firewalls and routers. Main features include a forward caching proxy, traffic shaping, intrusion detection, 2FA and easy OpenVPN client setup. Savvy Shark’s new features include ports-based OpenSSL 3, Suricata 7, several MVC/API conversions, a new neighbour configuration option for ARP/NDP, core inclusion of the os-firewall and os-wireguard plugins, CARP VHID tracking for OpenVPN/WireGuard, and a functional Kea DHCPv4 server with HA support. See https://opnsense.org.
SLACKEL 7.7 MATE
Slackel is based on Slackware Linux and Salix. Both installation and live ISOs are available. The MATE edition currently uses v1.26.2 of the desktop environment and incorporates Linux kernel 6.6.11. The OS also includes the latest updates from Slackware’s Current tree, as well as salixtools (borrowed from Salix). The developers have also created useful GUI utilities such as instonusb, which can create a live Slackel USB stick with persistent encryption file. See more at: www.slackel.gr.