Manjaro Linux, a brand-new distro on the rise

With virtually countless Linux distributions available for every taste and purpose, it's no secret that choice is a defining feature of the Linux world. What's not always apparent, though, is that the range of choices actually gets bigger every year.

New distros come onto the scene on a fairly regular basis; SolusOS and Fuduntu Linux are two I've covered over the past few months, but recently another one caught my eye as being particularly worth covering.
It's Manjaro Linux, a brand-new contender that launched last August and has already sprinted up DistroWatch's page-hit rankings to No. 15. Why all the interest? The project has released a few key updates this month. Here's a rundown of some of the distro's best features.
1. Based on Arch Linux
Arch Linux is a very popular distro among more experienced users in the Linux community, and it's renowned for its simplicity, power, and speed.
I recently covered Cinnarch, which adds the Cinnamon desktop to this longtime favorite, but now Manjaro presents another option.
“Manjaro provides all the benefits of the Arch operating system combined with a focus on user-friendliness and accessibility,” the project team explains. “Available in both 32 and 64 bit versions, Manjaro is suitable for newcomers as well as experienced Linux users.”
2. User-friendly yet powerful
Manjaro strives to preserve the power of Arch Linux for enthusiasts while also making it more accessible for newcomers to Linux.
Targeting the latter group, the distro includes a user-friendly installer and is designed to work fully “straight out of the box,” its makers say. Toward that end, it also includes preinstalled desktop environments, automatic hardware detection and driver installation, multimedia codecs, and graphical applications for installing software and updating the system.

For those on the more experienced end, however, Manjaro offers extensive customizability to suit personal taste and preference. In addition, there's also a minimalist NET-Edition stripped of any preinstalled software that can be used as a base installation on which to build your own system.
“Starting from a command line, be completely free to chose your own greeters, desktops, hardware drivers, software applications, and so on!” the project team explains.
3. Numerous desktop options
Though the lightweight Xfce desktop environment comes standard in Manjaro, the software also offers Cinnamon, KDE, and OpenBox options as well as E17, MATE, and LXDE through what it calls “Community Editions.”
4 . Rolling releases
Like Arch, Manjaro uses a rolling release development model. What that means is that users always have the most up-to-date system possible, without the hassle of having to formally install new versions. When new releases are announced, they're simply up-to-date snapshots of the latest software.
5. A world of software
As a fully Arch-compatible distro, Manjaro does offer its users access to the Arch User Repository and all the software packages contained therein.
In addition, however, Manjaro also offers its own official repositories “in order to ensure that any software packages provided (e.g. system updates and applications) have been fully tested and are completely stable before release,” it notes.


 It's available for download in the flavor of your choice. 

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/2029179/meet-manjaro-linux-a-brand-new-distro-on-the-rise.html

Ubuntu Linux Operating System Released for Google Nexus 7, Nexus 10

If you've been wishing your Google Nexus tablet could run the Ubuntu version of Linux, your wish has been granted.  A preview version of Ubuntu Touch can now be downloaded from Canonical.
There are a couple of cavets, though. First off, this version is only for the Google Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The goal is to eventually bring support to all devices that currently run Android, but that's still quite a ways away.
Also, Canonical assumes that anyone who wants to try out an Ubuntu tablet is already running a desktop with this same operating system, and is familiar with using terminal coomands. This process is not for timid Linux newbies.
Instructions for downloading Ubuntu Touch Preview can be found on Canonical's web site.
More about Ubuntu Touch
Ubuntu Touch will run on Nexus smartphones as well as tablets, and integration across these two typpes of mobile device is one of the hallmarks of this version. Users will be able to run a tablet and an smartphone app side-by-side, and drag-and-drop content between the two.
The Nexus tablets do not have many hardware buttons, and this operating system has been designed to not need them, as the four edges of the screen are used to navigate between apps, settings, and controls.
Ubuntu Touch offers multiple secure user accounts, plus a guest account, allowing a family to share one device, or for one to be shared by employees at an office.
For the security conscious, Canonical promises that data protection is "world class" with full disk encryption, and additional encryption for personal data.
Users will be able to add a keyboard and mouse to turn their Ubuntu tablet into a laptop.
Ubuntu is able run HTML5 software as well as native apps. And Canonical says it supports remote-access over standard protocols from Microsoft, Citrix, VMware and Wyse.

SOURCE:http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3873&news=Canonical_Ubuntu_Touch_for_Tablets_Released