New Arch-Based Linux Distribution Aims to be Beginner-Friendly

CachyOS (https://cachyos.org/) has one goal, to create a beginner-friendly Arch-based Linux operating system that can be used by anyone, regardless of how much experience they might have.

One might think Arch wouldn't be the best distribution to serve as a base for such an operating system, but the developers have opted to go that route. And with the help of KDE Plasma, which is installed by default, the distribution certainly shows promise that they'll achieve their goal.

Of course, if KDE Plasma isn't your jam, you can go with Cutefish, i3, Gnome, Openbox, Wayfire, LXQT, bspwm, Kofuku, or Xfce.

Like most Arch spinoffs, CachyOS has a GUI installer that is just as point-and-clicky as any user-friendly Linux distribution. Another thing you might find interesting about CachyOS is the developers include a custom version of Firefox, called Cachy Browser, which is focused on privacy, security, and freedom.

The one caveat to CachyOS is that it doesn't install much in the way of software. You'll find the standard KDE Plasma tools and not much else.

One thing to keep in mind is that CachyOS is new, so it doesn't quite achieve the goal of user-friendliness. In fact, given its current state, I wouldn't recommend the OS to anyone other than experienced users.

However, I have faith the developers will continue to simplify the Arch experience with this interesting take on the distribution. You can learn more and download CachyOS here (https://cachyos.org/).

elementary OS 7 Getting Closer to Release

Danielle For», Founder & CEO of elementary OS, has announced that the team is now preparing for the release of 7.0 (https://blog.elementary.io/updates-for-october-2022/). With all blocking window manager issues resolved, the team is ready to move forward.

At this point, the remaining tasks are mostly centered around builds, infrastructure, etc. But even with the OS in this position, the team is still adding more polish to the release.

But what can you expect with elementary OS 7.0? The team has been fairly closed-mouthed about the project, but we do know that it will include Flatpak 7.1 (based on Gnome 43) and a number of Gtk 4 improvements.

Other expected features include a modernized look for app icons, a more responsive design, and major improvements to the App Center and System Settings tools. One goal the team has is to fit the desktop for any device (including mobile). That's their idea of a responsive design.

For anyone thinking 7.0 will bring a massive visual change to the distribution, you'll be disappointed. Pantheon will remain the same Pantheon you've grown accustomed to, but with much more polish.

To find out more about what 7.0 might bring, follow the official elementary OS blog (https://blog.elementary.io/).

Nitrux 2.5 Released with Kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26

Nitrux (https://nxos.org/) is a Linux distribution (based on Debian) that emphasizes the use of AppImages for end-user software. And, instead of employing systemd as its init system, Nitrux uses OpenRC.

To make things even more interesting, Nitrux adds a suite of convergent applications – called Maui Apps – as well as a curated collection of free and open source software.

More importantly, however, Nitrux 2.5 is now available and is the first non-systemd distribution to include both kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26. To be specific, Nitrux uses the 6.0.6 XanMod kernel, KDE Plasma 5.26.2, KDE Frameworks 5.99.0, and KDE Gear 22.08.2.

As well, the developers decided to change their policy about including the NVIDIA proprietary driver with the default installation.

According to the official release notes (https://nxos.org/changelog/release-announcement-nitrux-2-5-0/), "We've decided to change our policy about including this particular piece of proprietary software to make this distribution more accessible to users and to avoid creating a separate ISO file. The minimal ISO does not include the NVIDIA Proprietary driver, as we want to keep the size of the ISO image small."

Other features in the new release include the Bismuth KWin plugin (to add a tiling feature to the window manager), updates for the AMD Vulkan driver, and the inclusion of Distrobox (for container creation).

Download an ISO for Nitrux 2.5 here (https://osdn.net/projects/nitrux/downloads/77946/nitrux-nx-desktop-20221102-amd64.iso/).