DistroWatch Recognizes FreedomBox
Posted 2019-09-06
The FreedomBox Foundation is proud to announce that DistroWatch has officially recognized the FreedomBox operating system as a distribution of Linux! This means that FreedomBox is now listed in DistroWatch's authoritative database of Linux and BSD distributions.
Check out FreedomBox's official listing on DistroWatch here.
Founded in 2001, DistroWatch is a website that provides a curated, up-to-date database of the world’s Linux and BSD operating systems (i.e. distributions). As there are hundreds of Linux and BSD distributions in the world, and many distributions are born and die each year, DistroWatch plays an important role in organizing a corpus of information about the vast ecosystem of free operating systems. Given DistroWatch’s prominence in the Linux community, up-and-coming Linux projects are frequently submitted to be listed on DistroWatch, and the application process can take a year or longer. It is considered a rite of passage for an operating system to be listed on DistroWatch. We are very proud that FreedomBox has finally gained this honor!
A Win for Debian Pure Blends
FreedomBox is a Debian pure blend, which means that the FreedomBox system and 100% of the software inside of it are installed as Debian packages. In other words, FreedomBox is distributed directly through Debian's repositories. Though FreedomBox is now listed as its own distribution on DistroWatch, we remain committed to Debian and our status as a pure blend. Indeed, FreedomBox is not the first Debian pure blend to be listed on DistroWatch: Debian Edu/Skolelinux has also been listed. The fact that pure blends are successful enough to achieve distribution status in their own right is a testament to Debian's strength as a stable base of software packages. FreedomBox is proof that you can build a fully-functional, specialized operating system without ever leaving the Debian ecosystem. We view our listing on DistroWatch as more proof that it is possible to succeed as a pure blend, despite the challenges.
Olimex Hardware Also Recognized
In addition to listing FreedomBox as a distribution, DistroWatch has also listed the Pioneer Edition FreedomBox on their official page for "Linux/BSD Compatible Hardware." Olimex, the company which produces and sells the Pioneer Edition FreedomBox, is known for making Linux-compatible hardware and working closely with the Linux community.
Check out DistroWatch's listing of the Pioneer Edition FreedomBox here.
Thanks
We thank the team at DistroWatch for reviewing our application and investing time into FreedomBox's listing! Listing a distribution on DistroWatch represents a long-term commitment: as their website says, "once a distribution is added, it will also require a life-long commitment to monitor the project, update the package listing, boot/install the distribution and take screenshots, publish news, check the page for broken links, etc." [1](https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=submit) The DistroWatch team receives 2-4 submissions every week, and must carefully review every submission before making a commitment to monitor a distribution for its lifetime. We are grateful that DistroWatch has made this commitment to FreedomBox!
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