Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" Xfce Edition Approaches Perfection

by Dietrich Schmitz

I don't heap high praise on a Linux Distribution very often.  In fact, I have taken aim at various camps' Distros with regularity to the point of seeming rather harsh. 

But, that criticism isn't undeserved.  No, too often I see 'me too', 'me too', 'me too' cookie cutter mania.

When one of the major Linux Distributions goes into general release there is an ensuing outbreak 'like a bad rash' of clones which surface within hours of the announcement on Distrowatch.com.

You've seen it and often enough to realize that okay 'maybe' some of them might have some redeeming value, but many are just being 'copy cats'.  FOSS activists will argue for variety.  I argue that too many Distros 'confuse' and send a negative message in terms of perceived quality and consistency.  I have written about standardization here and elsewhere, so you know where I stand on that count.

Yesterday, I was curious about Ubuntu's impending release of 13.10 Saucy Salamander enough to download the Lubuntu 13.10 final beta2 derivative release for a quick evaluation.

It was driven primarily by my interest to see how the newest kernel 3.11.x performs.  Much to my disappointment I found directly after install that Chrome stable flash video was laggy.  I had just reinstalled over the top of Lubuntu 13.04 which has garnered a lot of my respect as being a very lightweight but complete Distribution quite suitable for Netbooks such as my Acer Aspire One D260 with 2GB of ram.  So, I was 'miffed' at the discovery of this.

Okay, this is the final beta2.  I realize that -- don't go firing off a comment filled with invectives just yet.  Hear me out.

With 'Axel' installed, I quickly downloaded the Xubuntu 13.10 beta2, 'dd' copied it to my SanDisk 16GB pen drive, booted up and installed, again over the top.

A half hour later I was up on Xubuntu 13.10 beta2.  I dispatched directly to the Chrome stable flash test with the same website's youtube video.  (Sigh)

Same laggy video.  I check my chrome://gpu settings and see 'all green':

So, I know hardware gpu assisted graphic acceleration is working fine with the supported Intel GMA3150.

What now?  Taps fingers....Okay, I am the proverbial glutton for punishment.  One more time, I went to the Kubuntu website, downloaded their 13.10 beta2 iso, slapped it on the pen drive and installed.  A half hour later,  I was on-line with the same Chrome version, same flash youtube video.  Verdict: Video was laggy.

#Facepalm

That's another two hours of my life I'll never get back again, I thought.

That's really odd even if these are beta Distros.  My instincts tell me now to find another Distro using the same (approximately) kernel as Lubuntu 13.04 that has been in production for some time.

So, I go to Distrowatch.com and stare at the trending list, noting the usual stack of top 10 contenders, and there at the top is Mint.  It occurred to me that I really hadn't tried Mint in quite a while and realized that they have an Xfce edition in their line-up which I directly downloaded, again putting on the pen drive, and proceeded to perform a clean install of Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" Xfce edition.  

Linux Mint 15, released in July 2013, includes a 3.8.x kernel.  Again I tested with Chrome stable the same youtube video -- this time no laggy video.  Huh.

Is this a kernel regression I thought?  Sure seems like it.

So, that really isn't the point here.  My serendipity led me back to a Distro which has always been in the top 5 on Distrowatch for a long time.  And I am most impressed with what Clem and the Linux Mint Developer Team have done.  Clearly, Mint is at the top of today's list for good reason.

The level of professionalism, fit, finish is evident from the moment you boot to login to Desktop presentation.  The Mint line-up of Distributions are arguably a 'cut above' the rest.

Linux Mint 15 "Olivia" Xfce Desktop with Mint-Minimal Icon Theme by +Paulo Silva 

The Xfce edition is as complete a Distribution as anyone can expect yet still has a level of conservative lightweight memory use going in its favor.

This isn't a Distribution review -- it's a commentary on what I see across the landscape and how truly only a small handful of Distros are worth their salt.  You only need spend ten minutes with it to realize how well executed and how well meshed everything in this Distro works.  It is a joy to use.

If you don't need Ubuntu, but would like to stay in the Ubuntu repo and remain lean, yet have a 'Windows-like' experience, then I would suggest you consider giving Linux Mint 15 Xfce a test drive.   

I have spent enough time now with Mint 15 Xfce to say that it approaches perfection.  

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• Xubuntu 13.10 Beta 2 (Saucy Salamander) Screenshot Tour
• Development Release: Ubuntu 13.10 Beta 2

Read More

Wanna Get Your Point Across...? Show 'Em The "Magic"

My Uncle Ernie was a jokester and a magician.

When he and my cousins would make the drive down from Wisconsin, I waited patiently at the kitchen table, hoping he'd show me some of his tricks before we ate dinner.



Uncle Ernie rarely disappointed us.

Simple magic really...misdirection to make stuff disappear, card tricks, quarters found in your ear.  It's all stuff we roll our eyes at as adults, but to a 10 year old kid...

My Uncle Ernie was Merlin Incarnate.

Of course, to the magician, it's an ability...just like driving a car or riding a bicycle.  You are able to do it better, directly proportional to the amount of practice you put into it.

A few years back, I was active on the forums of a particular Linux distro.  I also spend a good deal of time advocating for said distro so of course I wanted it to succeed.

At this particular time, there was a fairly well known bug that caused evolution to open upon an email field, even if Thunderbird was your default email client.  There was a fairly complex set of instructions to correct the problem but a lot of new users were put off by having to hand edit obscure configuration files to fix it.

I don't think it took me more than 15 minutes to write a script to fix the broken system call and implement it.  It was a dirty little hack...code most any self-respecting geek wouldn't let see the light of day, but it did the job and that's all I really cared about.  I messaged the forum poster and told him how to make the script active.  With the click of a mouse, his problem, and this problem in general was relegated to "Problems that used to be".

When this new user asked me how I had fixed it, I hesitated for a moment or two...thinking that any explanation would be wasted on the uninitiated...pearls before swine as it were.

But I did indeed explain to him how a dirty little script hack had corrected the problem.  He was not only amazed...it opened his eyes to the real beauty of Linux and Open Source Software.

He now understood that if this problem had been a Windows issue, he would have had to wait until someone at Microsoft corrected the problem.  It might have been fixed, or it might not have been fixed...

With Linux, all he had to do was mention it on a forum and it was fixed on the spot.

I will let him reveal himself if he wishes...he is well-known in his distro circles and does a lot of good work both in the kernel and in the user space.  Not everyone has the opportunity to show others the magic trick.  Most people don't care...they just want the problem gone.

Like a funny noise in the motor of their car.

Like the squeaky door that doesn't respond to oil or lubricant.

Like the computer that won't open the right program when you click the trigger link.....

But every now and then, you show someone how the magic trick works and it intrigues them.

And that, in turn...

It can change history.

Related articles

• Valve Announces SteamOS Linux Distro, Download Soon and Free Forever

Read More

Is NIST History?

by Dietrich Schmitz

In my last story, Is OpenSSL's Cryptography Broken?, I reported the ongoing developments surrounding a suspect security problem with the implementation of openssl.

The story, unfortunately, continues to unfold with suspicion now turning to confirmation in a NY Times report that the NSA inserted altered random number generator code into the Dual Eliptic Curve Deterministic Random Bit Generator so as to predict private key encoding and provide a 'backdoor' entry point mechanism.  (Image credit: fearlessmen.com)

Despite strong denials coming from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) who oversaw the development of the Eliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) standard, many now are left having a strong distrust of the agency.  From a The Register story NIST publicly responded:

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has vehemently denied accusations that it deliberately weakened encryption standards to help the NSA's monitoring activities.

"We want to assure the IT cybersecurity community that the transparent, public process used to rigorously vet our standards is still in place," said NIST in a statement.

"NIST would not deliberately weaken a cryptographic standard. We will continue in our mission to work with the cryptographic community to create the strongest possible encryption standards for the U.S. government and industry at large."

The statement from NIST said that working with the NSA was 'standard operating procedure' and required by law.  In an attempt to throw a 'wet blanket' on the bonfire, NIST has reopened the standard for public comment.

Regardless, one outspoken Developer, Bruce Schnierer, said in a podcast:

NIST took a big credibility hit unfortunately. There are good people there doing good work but we don't know which of their standards are tainted, we don't know how much collaboration there is with the NSA. 

And unfortunately because trust is lost when they get up and say the NSA doesn't affect our standards we don't believe them. We need a way to get back trust.

In other news the IETF offered up a 'fool-proof' plan to PRISM-proof the Internet.

What is the take-away?

Cryptography standards have all now been put into question in addition to the public relations disaster that confronts NIST.

Whether or not NIST will recover remains to be seen as it is quite likely that all cryptography standards will require rigorous audits.

In the meantime, the prevailing perception is that many cryptographic standards have been compromised and privacy is not assured by virtue of their use on the Internet.  As such, it will take a significant amount of time to pragmatically review each standard and thoroughly vet code before a level of confidence in these needed privacy measures will be restored.

And, the question of whether or not trust should be placed in agencies such as NIST is now the main focus and primary concern.  Is NIST history?  Only time will tell.

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• Is OpenSSL's Cryptography Broken?
• NIST says it did not 'deliberately weaken' encryption standards to help NSA undermine Internet security
• How far did the NSA go to weaken cryptography standards?
• NIST's Random Bit Generator Algorithm Fail

Read More

Is OpenSSL's Cryptography Broken?

by Dietrich Schmitz

Last month, in early August, a colleague Friend of mine, +Scott Doty contacted me.  He expressed his concern regarding Red Hat's implementation of OpenSSL.

The issue brought to my attention by Scott concerns a specific bugzilla ticket which was opened in 2007 and has never been addressed.

I offered Scott to reach out to Red Hat's public relations the same day he contacted me.  The answer returned the following day was essentially a 'no comment' and that I should refer to the comments section on the ticket -- deemed to be 'self-explanatory'.  If you take the time to review the ticket, you'll see where Scott appended his own comments in the August time frame toward the bottom.  It's fairly long.

Red Hat had absolutely no intention of fixing the bug, specifically, regarding the treatment of the Elliptic Curve Cryptography implementation in OpenSSL, and according to the comments on the ticket they felt ECC was patent encumbered.

Yet, in other sources on the Internet, one can find reference to a 'work-around' which would avoid any IP infringement issues.  Quoting from Wikipedia.org's ECC page:

"...However, according to RSA Laboratories, "in all of these cases, it is the implementation technique that is patented, not the prime or representation, and there are alternative, compatible implementation techniques that are not covered by the patents."[3] Additionally,Daniel J. Bernstein has stated that he is "not aware of" patents that cover the Curve25519 elliptic curve Diffie–Hellman algorithm or its implementation.[4] RFC 6090, published in February 2011, documents ECC techniques, some of which were published so long ago that even if they were patented any such patents for these previously published techniques would now be expired...."

Alright, so it struck Scott as being odd that such a bug was laying around collecting dust, and I agreed.

In the meantime, we have seen a series of news releases with Snowden giving out new information.  One of the claims has been that the capability of NSA to penetrate presumed to be secure cryptography standards has become much improved to such an extent that they are now collecting information flowing over SSL with impunity and have broken a few other cryptographic standards, purportedly.  I say this only because it's Snowden's word vs. the NSA and the NSA is completely 'mum' on the topic.

The sensational news story "Report: NSA Can Break Internet Encryption"arrived last week and created quite a stir.  The title is a carefully crafted wording.  Naturally, it is quite an unsettling thought to have all presumed Internet security breached, but the story's author hedged a bit at the end of his story saying:

"...Despite the NSA's ability to crack web encryption with these means, Wired's Kim Zetter notes that "these methods don’t involve cracking the algorithms and the math underlying the encryption, but rather rely upon circumventing and otherwise undermining encryption." 

And Snowden himself said during a Q&A with The Guardian in June that cryptography works. 

"Properly implemented strong crypto systems are one of the few things that you can rely on," he said...."

Now, the distinction to be made ties into the title of the story -- namely that, provided that an 'implementation' of strong cryptography coded 'properly' with no side-effect bugs cannot be hacked.

Put another way, bug-laden cryptography can result in weakening of the underlying cipher's strength and so can potentially be cracked.

This would seem to suggest that the NSA have found defects in various cryptographic standards, or, by whatever means, have introduced themselves intentionally crafted bugs in such a way to induce such weakening, thereby achieving their end-goal to crack encryption methodologies.

This led me to think more about OpenSSL and that languishing buzilla ticket.  Just yesterday, I had an exchange with +Jan Wildeboer to whom I regularly communicate, usually on Google Plus.  I broached the matter of the Red Hat OpenSSL bugzilla ECC ticket with him and curiously enough, today, he cc'd me with this Google Plus post (thank you Jan):

Mike Hearn

Shared publicly  -  10:29 AM

A few days ago Bruce Schneier, who has reviewed the leaked Snowden documents, warned against the use of elliptic curve cryptography on the grounds that it requires users to agree on curve parameters and he no longer trusts the parameters to not have back doors. Specifically he's talking about the NIST curves. NIST is a US organisation that was previously widely respected and considered trustworthy.

However, his warning seemed to be based more on general conservatism than any specific intelligence cleaned from the leaked documents. We know the NSA has tried to subvert the standards setting process and we know they may have advanced mathematical attacks that the public doesn't know about. ECC requires various constants to be agreed on globally for an instantiation to be used. Hence, the concern.

But that isn't specific evidence. Unfortunately, today I  learned (via Gregory Maxwell) that the process for selecting the "random" curve parameters appears on the surface to be completely implausible. The parameters are the output of SHA1, which should be good if the seed was selected in a reproducible manner. But they were not. The seeds are extremely large constants with no explanations of where they came from. That smells very strongly of something that might be hacked.

It gets better. It turns out that these constants are not only unexplainable but were actually generated by an employee of the NSA. And it turns out that the IEEE working group that worked on standards for ECC was actually holding its meetings on the NSA campus and its membership therefore had to be approved by the NSA as well.

At this point it is fair to assume that the NIST SECG curves should be abandoned for all uses. Bitcoin uses secp256k1 which was not selected in the same way and is more likely to be OK, and besides the NSA is unlikely to care about stealing peoples wallets (we don't use ECC for secrecy, just authenticity). And luckily academics like djb and Tanja Lange have created new variants of ECC independently of the NSA which are technically better anyway. But the upgrade process away from the SEC curves is going to be a pain.

So, that's quite interesting.  It would now appear that ECC is borked and quite possibly has been so for quite some time, thanks to the handy-work of the NSA.

The cat is now out of the bag.  I am now wondering how many other cryptographic standards need a thorough audit and scrubbing of any questionable code and fixing of languishing bugs?

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• On the NSA
• NSA's (and GCHQ) Decryption Capabilities: Truth and Lies
• Google confirms Java and OpenSSL crypto PRNG on Android are broken.
• Good SSL for your website is absurdly difficult in practice

Read More

Cloverleaf Dead: The Kids Pick Up Their Toys and Go Home

by Dietrich Schmitz

It began with Fuduntu's spring closure announcement, then its team opened a new project called FUSE, a spin of openSUSE.   And now comes another announcement by Shawn Dunn "...we are stopping development on Cloverleaf...":

"Due to many factors, the most important being lack of available manpower, we will be refactoring our efforts as part of the openSUSE project, whether in an official or non-official capacity. 

Initially, we had calculated on having 7-10 active developers available to work on Cloverleaf as an independent distribution, based on openSUSE. 

As things turned out, many of the developers we had factored into our plans had things pop up in daily life, whether personal or professional, and that has cut down on our ability to keep up with changes from the upstream and still develop Cloverleaf into a distribution that would have the same sort of polish that Fuduntu did.     Right now, we only have three active developers and it just isn’t possible to develop a satisfactory project with our current manpower."

That's too bad.  But perhaps the bar was set too high?  And to do anything with openSUSE would have meant developing a much deeper understanding of its internals which are quite broad and expansive.

I personally think that the brain trust of Fuduntu was largely a 'one man band'.  The take-away is that having any one individual in charge of development will always be risky, which left all of the Fuduntu community 'high and dry', unfortunately.

You should therefore ask yourself these questions:  Is my Distro being maintained by more than one programmer?, and, Will my Distro still be around in five years?

I happen to believe only a few Distributions will remain in five years and they will consist of Debian and derivatives, Ubuntu and derivatives, Mint, Fedora, openSUSE, Mageia, Arch Linux and Gentoo.

All others are cookie cutter Distros of sorts and have no real redeeming value beyond being mixes of the aforementioned base Distributions.  There's no innovation in that.  The programmers who maintain them will eventually leave their respective communities 'at the drop of a hat', kind of like what happened with Cloverleaf.    When they chose openSUSE following the initial Confused by FUSE episode, I suspected then the project wouldn't have longevity.  It turns out, I was right.

The Kids picked up their toys and went home.  So long.

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• Fuduntu: Kids and Community can be so cruel
• Lubuntu: One Honkin Fast Lean Mean Distro
• Cloverleaf to Become openSUSE Add-on [OStatic]

Read More

A Delightful Surprise: Lubuntu Extra Life Extension (LXLE) 12.04.3

by Dietrich Schmitz

Delight.  It's that feeling you get when you stumble upon something new that you had no idea existed.

You may know that I've got a penchant for lean minimalist Distributions and using an Acer Aspire One Netbook with 2 GB ram can be demanding.  So, naturally, I want to ring all the power I can get out of  a given Distro, whatever that may be.  I try not to Distro-hop, but in the recent past have moved from Netrunner 13.04 Enigma, the best out of the box KDE experience, to Lubuntu 13.04,  a lean, but good performance value proposition for older PCs and Netbooks.

In my view, Lubuntu really has the best mix of features for older PCs and Atom-based Netbooks of any Distro I can think of.

While spartan Lubuntu may be, it is by no means a slouch in terms of performance characteristics, as you'll find it uses OpenBox window manager combined with LXDE.   I've found it most appealing that Lubuntu covers all the basics with little fanfare and doesn't get 'in your way'.  It meets the 'good enough' benchmark, get's the job done, and, most of all, 'sips memory' qualifying it as fast and nimble.

Alright you get the idea.  So, I went to Distrowatch a few days ago and discovered that there was a Distro, LXLE, that had just released a new version on August 23, 2013.   Hmmmm.  Lubuntu Extra Life Extension?  My curiosity was peaked.  I made a note of it and downloaded a copy of their 64-bit edition (32-bit available also) and installed it last evening.

I've spent several weeks using Lubuntu and quickly reached a comfort level using it.  So, getting up to speed on LXLE wasn't difficult and it furnishes the same installation process as most of the other *buntu derivates with its own branding, of course.  That process ran smoothly as expected.

Upon completion of the install, I pulled out the usb pen drive and rebooted.  When I reached the login menu it showed a nice clean login screen with a Lubuntu/LXLE logo emblazoned.  Below the login name and password was XP Paradigm.  What? Paradigm?  I clicked the drop-down list to see there were four paradigm options including Lubuntu Netbook.  Interesting, I thought.  I left it on XP for now.

Lubuntu Extra Life Extension Desktop - XP Paradigm

The above is a screenshot of the LXLE desktop.

What is it?

LXLE is simply a respun Lubuntu with different goals.

• Sticks with LTS only releases of Ubuntu to ensure hardware & software support.
• Based on Lubuntu Linux to ensure a fast capable desktop for aging computers.
• No rebranding of the OS to ensure no confusion when looking for help/tutorials.
• Stays with Ubuntu at the core of the system to ensure plentiful support options.
• Keeps desktop and other major software updated to the latest current version.
• Provides a complete drop in and go replacement for XP, Vista, 7 Starter/Basic.
• Covers most users everyday needs by providing an excellent set of default apps.
• Adds useful necessary mods and tweaks, to improve performance & functions.
• Develops a beautiful modern looking intuitive desktop for anyone to use easily.

New Version! 12 .04.3 Paradigm

• Light on resources; Heavy on functions.
• Always based on Ubuntu/Lubuntu LTS.
• Uses an optimized LXDE user interface.
• Four familar desktop layout paradigms.
• Prudent full featured Apps preinstalled.
• The latest versions of all major software.
• Added PPA's extends available software.
• Updated Openbox, PCmanfm, OpenJDK
• Fast Forecast, Aero Snap, Quick Launch
• Random Wallpaper, Panel Trash access
• Theme consistency throughout system.
• 50 gorgeous wallpapers preinstalled.
• Numerous other tweaks/additions.
• Stable and rock solid performance.
• 32 and 64 bit OS versions available.
• Boots & is online in less than 1 minute.

LXLE is reasonable and not over-done in my opinion.  It's all subject to your tweaking and personal preferences, of course, but what you gain over Lubuntu is an LTS advantage and the default application set is larger and more robust than Lubuntu.

LXLE's being a 'cut above' in performance and features makes it an excellent candidate for staying resident on my Netbook for a long time to come.

I can't think of anything else to add.  Clearly, the LXLE folks have recognized an 'unmet need' and are filling the niche, and do it very well.

This fine lightweight Distribution gets my strong recommendation.  Give it a spin and judge for yourself.

-- Dietrich

  

Related articles

• Lubuntu: One Honkin Fast Lean Mean Distro
• Netrunner 13.06 Enigma: Best KDE Out of the Box Experience
• Distribution Release: Ubuntu 12.04.3

Read More

Pamela Jones Voluntarily Shuts Down Groklaw.net

by Dietrich Schmitz

This is outrageous.  Pamela Jones has singularly been probably the biggest shining light on Linux Advocacy there is.  She has won many awards in recognition of her accomplishments.

Today, she posted a story about her decision to voluntarily take down her website because of her concern that email privacy has been compromised.

In her situation, she deals with and contacts many people throughout the world in the highest echelons and as such she deals with highly sensitive information, naturally.

How is she to operate in full confidentiality a website such as Groklaw in light of what has transpired with the disclosure that the NSA continue to operate a project which has become known as PRISM?  How is she to operate in light of the Patriot Act and National Security Letters, which to date haven't reached her door?

She has decided to shut down her site because she feels she has no recourse.

I submit that if she uses the RetroShare facility in conjunction with Cryptobin.org she can be assured of operating in full confidentiality, including email, file sharing, and audio calls.

We have long since past the point where government has gotten too big and isn't serving the best interests of 'the people'.

To the extent that I know and have corresponded with her on several occasions, I have reached out to her and I sincerely hope she will seriously consider setting up RetroShare to reach me (and other developers at Retroshare I know) and discuss how a 'fool-proof' method of sharing her F2F keys with anyone to whom she wishes to communicate in complete confidentiality can be implemented.  The NSA cannot circumvent Retroshare.

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• Groklaw legal site shuts over fears of NSA email snooping
• Faced With The Security State, Groklaw Opts Out
• Tech legal news site Groklaw shutting down, because email privacy 'is impossible'
• Tech legal news site Groklaw shutting down, because email privacy 'is impossible'
• Legal Site Groklaw Shuts Down Rather Than Face NSA in Heartrending Post

Read More

USAWatchdog.com: Chain Reaction of Breakdowns in Progress

by Dietrich Schmitz

Folks, this is another in a series of public service reports about the U.S. economy.  This information, I feel, is vital and therefore I am sharing it with you here on my Linux Advocates website.  Please reshare with Friends and Family.  Original story here.  -- Dietrich

Chain Reaction of Breakdowns in Progress-Dr. Jim Willie

7 AUGUST 2013 NO COMMENT

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com  

Dr. Jim Willie, Publisher of “The Hat Trick Letter,” says, “We’re leading up to a big event.  We are having breakdowns in numerous structural elements of the financial system.  We’re seeing a chain reaction of breakdown events in progress.”  Fed Chief Ben Bernanke talked about tapering the money printing to buy bonds two months ago.  Dr Willie contends, “The ‘taper talk’ was a stress test to find out what in the world would break down, and the answer was everything!”  Dr. Willie predicts, “In the United States, we are going to have shortages across the board, and that includes gold and silver.  Just think food and gasoline.  That’s when the riots are going to start.  You are going to see out of control chaos and the government stepping in to restore order. . . . Shortages and price inflation are going to drive people out of their minds.”   Join Greg Hunter for an in-depth One-on-One interview with Dr. Jim Willie, who can be found on GoldenJackass.com.

Read More

It's in the Vault. RetroShare.

It's in the Vault.  RetroShare.

Don't be a victim.  Privacy is your right.  Own it with RetroShare.   

-- Dietrich

Read More

Come on Peace Train, Take Me Home Again

Read More

Lubuntu: One Honkin Fast Lean Mean Distro

by Dietrich Schmitz

You know, when you look in the Linux parts bin, you see bolt-on guis like KDE, Unity (only Ubuntu), Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment, Gnome3. And you see a division of packaged Distributions along Gentoo's Emerge, Arch Linux Pacman, Red Hat RPM, and Debian deb package systems (those are the major players).  Everything else at Distrowatch is combinations and permutations of the aforementioned parts with different philosophies regarding File Hierarchical Structure, and release management strategies combined with various community governance models.

That's fine and once you've sorted that out, you'll realize there is a lot of chaff.  To varying degrees, you'll find some Distros are good and some less so and only a few with real good support behind them.

I've told you about which Distros will be around in five years and so the base Distros are most likely to be left standing while the others will have end of life'd officially or simply will lose support by attrition and die off due to lack of maintenance.

The other day I switched from Netrunner Enigma to Lubuntu 13.04.  Let me tell you, my opinion of Lubuntu has risen significantly since my last experience a few years ago.  Lubuntu is an Ubuntu derivative, of course, but based on the LXDE desktop gui.

In it's out of the box form, Lubuntu isn't super sexy but it really is a pleasure to use and has 'the basics' in place.  The memory footprint is small enough that any machine running Windows XP (due to expire in 2014) will be an excellent candidate for Lubuntu.  With less than 4GB disk space needed and a ram footprint of about 170MB ram, Lubuntu will reanimate any machine older than 5 (even 10) years and save you from the needed hardware upgrade you may have thought would be necessary.

I am using Lubuntu on my Acer Aspire One D260 with 2GB ram and the only thing I did post install was to add GIMP, preload, zRAM, glances, Chrome and Guake.  (zRAM will be present in the Lubuntu 13.10 edition by default.)  That's it.  My needs are covered.

Features

• Based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment.
• Pcmanfm, a fast and lightweight files manager using gio/gvfs.
• Openbox, the fast and extensible, default windows-manager of LXDE.
• Lightdm, using the simple GTK greeter
• Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome.
• ... and, of course, based on Ubuntu 13.04.

See the complete list of applications on https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Lubuntu/Setup#Application

Lubuntu 13.04 (Raring Ringtail) Desktop

The main advantage to using Lubuntu is that it benefits from having the Ubuntu repository.  If you were wondering which repo between RPM vs DEB is best, DEB wins hands down on total packaged apps.  Personally, I miss YUM but it's a trade-off and DEB simply tips the scale.

[ Edit: 8/5/2013 9:00am GMT-5 I am inserting information about Compton from Lubuntu's blog site (directly below).  It's almost an oversight not to mention it.  Compton is easy to install and puts LXDE on equal footing with Xfce's compositing capability. ]

Compton Shadow Effects (and more)

From the Lubuntu blog howto on Compton:

Compton is a standalone lightweight compositor for X (the graphic server on Linux systems). It provides 2D graphical acceleretaion and this allow us to drop shadows under the windows, make elements fade as they (dis)appear, draw (semi)transparent menús and notifications, etc.

Follow the how-to's instructions and you'll have compositing in a jiffy.

Lubuntu with Compton compositing effects installed

So, if you are like me and looking for a Distro that will be supported in five years and will keep your aging PC going, then please have a look at Lubuntu.  It gets the job done and is deceptively quick.

I would add that it's speed approaches that of CrunchBang.  It's that quick, which I was happy to find.

Also, and just as an aside, the LXDE upstream developer team are now actively working on a port of GTk-based LXDE to Qt, named LXDE-Qt.  Joining them and merging their project is Razor-Qt, so I expect to see good things in the near future from LXDE and naturally downstream Lubuntu will benefit greatly.

Anyhow, check out Lubuntu.  It's a true sleeper and a gem.

-- Dietrich

Related articles

• LXDE-Based Lubuntu Will Not Ship Mir Display Server
• Lubuntu, Kubuntu Decide Against Mir Switch
• Roundup: Ubuntu derivatives: 5 of the best Ubuntu-based distros
• Lubuntu 13.10 Changes: Firefox, zRAM Added By Default, LightDM Used For The Lock Screen

Read More