Hey there Redcore Linux lovers!
Once again, it's the time for a new release of Redcore Linux. We're pleased to announce that Redcore Linux Hardened 1806 (codename Kepler) is finally stable. It's been a rather long development cycle, but I think the wait will pay off, since this new release is feature packed. Here's a brief changelog since Redcore Linux Hardened 1803 (codename Jupiter) :
Changelog :
- resync with Gentoo portage tree (30.06.2018)
- linux kernel 4.16.16 hardened, as default
- linux kernel 4.14.50 LTS hardened, available in repository
- sisyphus package manager :
- supercharged, database transactions will run ~225 faster
- restricted to binary mode only, for better reliability
- vasile (versatile advanced script for iso and latest enchantments), our swiss army knife tool:
- is now more reliable when switching between system modes
- is now able to detect how many CPU cores are active on a system, and make required portage adjustments
- our buildserver has 16 CPU cores, so the buildsystem will use -j16 by default (16 jobs)
- being Gentoo based, all Redcore systems will have the same defaults, but that would be overkill on lower spec machines
- this change will make the required adjustments, so if a system has 4 cores, vasile will configure portage to use -j4 (4 jobs)
- this will only happen in mixed or source mode, where package compilation using portage is involved
- is now able to run on other distributions, and successfully create packages for Redcore Linux
- this has been tested and confirmed to work by our friends at Frugalware Linux
- some very long compile time packages (libreoffice, firefox, and many others) were built on Frugalware Linux infrastructure
- over 1000 packages we're updated during this cycle (that's about half of whole repository), you'll find some of them bellow
- graphics stack updated with mesa 18.1.2, llvm 6.0.1, libdrm 2.4.92, nvidia-drivers v390.59 (nouveau is still the default choice)
- libreoffice updated to v6.0.5.2, vlc updated to v3.0.3, gimp updated to v2.10.2
- all major web browser received some love, you'll find firefox v61.0, google-chrome v67.0.3396.99, vivaldi v1.15.1147.47, opera v53.0.2907.99, falkon v3.0.1
- wine also received some much needed attention, now it's at version 3.11 with different flavours available (staging, d3d9, vanilla, any...details)
- qt5 toolkit updated to v5.9.5 LTS, kde-frameworks updated to v5.47, kde-apps updated to 18.04.2
- plasma v5.12.5 LTS is now packaged and ready to install, in addition to lxqt...no plasma iso yet though...most likely next release will have a plasma spin as well
- to install plasma simply run : sisyphus install plasma-meta kdecore-meta ... this will give you a rather minimal plasma-session to play with ... for a more full featured experience, sisyphus is your friend
- if you're happy with plasma, you can uninstall lxqt : sisyphus uninstall lxqt-meta && sisyphus remove-orphans
- minor artwork tweaks here and there for a more professional look
- virtualbox guest additions were dropped starting this release, and this time for good, they will not return...every new release brings new headaches
- screenlocker won't unlock in live mode bug is finally fixed
- infrastructure updates, our web presence (bugtracker, wiki, website) now runs on a much faster server and with much better conectivity
- unlike many distributions out there, Redcore Linux does not ask for, or need donations to stay alive...however due to high demand from users who want to help, we're now accepting paypal tips
Thanks :
Our special thanks go to our friends at Frugalware Linux, who were so kind to give us access to one of their very fast buildserver. It's only thanks to them we we're able to pull off so many large updates so quickly.
