In today's open source roundup: Trisquel 7.0 LTS Belenos offers only free software. Plus: Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca coming in November with Cinnamon 2.4, and openSUSE 13.2 released Most Linux distributions tend to be a blend of mostly free software, along with some proprietary items such as drivers, etc. But Trisquel is one of the few distros that offers only free software. Trisquel 7.0 LTS Belenos is the latest release, and it should please most free software aficionados. According to Trisquel: Version 7 of the Trisquel GNU/Linux distribution, codenamed Belenos after a Celtic sun god, has been released. Belenos is a Long Term Support release that will be maintained until 2019. Relevant new packages and features include: Kernel Linux-libre 3.13 with lowlatency and bfq scheduling by default. Custom desktop based on GNOME 3.12 fallback. Abrowser 33 (a free Firefox derivative) as default browser. Electrum Bitcoin Wallet preinstalled. More at Trisquel Hat tip: Reddit If you haven’t used Trisquel before then be sure to read the Trisquel FAQ. There’s also a Trisquel discussion forum if you need assistance, and a Trisquel subreddit on Reddit if you want to connect with fellow Trisquel users there. You can download Trisquel right now in 32-bit or 64-bit versions. You can also choose between the main version, which uses GNOME as the desktop, and a lighter version called Trisquel Mini that uses LXDE instead of GNOME. There’s even a smaller version for kids called Trisquel Sugar Toast. If using truly free software matters to you then you should definitely check out Trisquel. I’ve reviewed it before for Desktop Linux Reviews, and I’ve always found it to be a worthy desktop Linux distribution. It’s focus on free softwware only is still a bit of a rarity among Linux distros. So please do take a look at it, you might be pleasantly surprised if you haven’t used it before. Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca coming in November with Cinnamon 2.4 Clement Lefebvre, the head developer for Linux Mint, announced a few days ago that Cinnamon 2.4 will be included in the forthcoming Linux Mint 17.1 Rebecca. According to Segfault: On behalf of the team and all the developers who contributed to this build, I am proud to announce the release of Cinnamon 2.4! This new version will be featured in Linux Mint 17.1 “Rebecca” planned for the end of November and in LMDE 2 “Betsy” planned for Spring 2015. More at Segfault Hat tip: Softpedia Clement Lefebvre This is great news for fans of Linux Mint, I’m looking forward to checking it out when it is released. Be sure to click through to read Clem’s announcement. There’s quite a bit there about Cinnamon 2.4 that you’ll want to know, it looks like it will be a great upgrade for Linux Mint users. openSUSE 13.2 released Version 13.2 of openSUSE has been released, according to openSUSE.org. According to openSUSE.org: Built around the most innovative technologies Linux has to offer: Snapper to take the most from snapshots capability of the powerful Btrfs filesystem offered as default option, Wicked to bring light to network configuration, Dracut to ensure shorter boot times… For users asking for even more innovation Plasma 5.1, the next generation workspace by KDE, is also available as a technical preview. This version presents the first step to adopt the new openSUSE design guidelines system-wide. The graphical revamp is noticeable everywhere: the installer, the bootloader, the boot sequence and all of the (seven!) supported desktops (KDE, GNOME, Xfce, LXDE, Enlightenment 19, Mate and Awesome). Even the experimental Plasma 5.1 is adapted to the overall experience. More at openSUSE.org I go way, way back with SUSE Linux. It was one of the first distributions I ever used, and it’s great to see its descendant openSUSE 13.2 still alive and thriving. Hopefully it will be around for many more years to come. It really has become a mainstay among desktop Linux distributions, and it remains very popular even though there are more distributions available today than ever before. You can download openSUSE 13.2 in 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Note though that the disc version weighs in at a chunky 4.7 GB. So bear that in mind if you are on a slow connection, it could take quite a while to download. Be sure to check out the openSUSE 13.2 release notes before doing an install on your computer. You might also want to bookmark the openSUSE support page, and the openSUSE forum in case you have any issues. Here’s a video review of openSUSE 13.2 (skip to 31.04 for the review): What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open Source