blendOS is an immutable distro that aims to replace all Linux distributions. We recently covered it with its previous version. The project is led by Rudra Saraswat, the lead developer of Ubuntu Unity. Its development has been progressing at a good pace.
With a recent announcement, they have introduced a new release equipped with many improvements, bringing blendOS closer to its goal.
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Ankush Das
Let's take a look at what's in store with this release.
🆕 blendOS v3 “Bhatura”: What's New?
Being an Arch-based distro that supports most app packages, the latest release of blendOS takes its name from a delectable dish from the Indian cuisine called 'Bhatura'.
This release has a lot to offer; the notable highlights include:
- Better Desktop Environment Support
- Intuitive Application Installs
- Additional Distribution Support
- Improved System Updates
- New Command Line Utilities
Better Desktop Environment Support
blendOS now has support for 7 desktop environments, which include the following:
Now that's a lot of support! 🤯
You can easily switch between these by running the 'system track' command in the terminal.
Intuitive Application Installs
This release of blendOS now brings the ability to double-click a DEB, RPM, pkg.tar.zst or even an APK package to install them into a container.
Additional Distribution Support
blendOS now supports ten distributions for running in containers, with the ability to run NixOS with a single/multi-user installation. Here are the supported distros:
- Arch
- AlmaLinux 9
- Crystal Linux
- Debian
- Fedora 38
- Kali Linux (rolling)
- Neurodebian Bookworm
- Rocky Linux
- Ubuntu 22.04
- Ubuntu 23.04
Improved System Updates
blendOS v3 uses ISOs for system updates; unlike conventional distros, this allows for a system to be rebuilt with the update size being in the 10-100 MB range.
It is thanks to zsync, that the update download size is so tiny. Updates are downloaded in the background, and on the next boot, the current root file system is replaced while keeping any custom system packages intact.
According to the developer, this update system is intended to resolve a significant flaw with rolling distros like Arch Linux by preventing any data loss or system failure, providing excellent stability.
New Command Line Utilities
And finally, two new command line utilities have been introduced; one is 'system', and the other is 'user'.
'system' will allow you to install packages, and even switch tracks. Whereas, 'user' will enable you to create/manage containers and their associations.
That's about it. For the highlights of this release, you can go through the release announcement blog to learn more about this delicious release.
📥 Download blendOS v3 “Bhatura”
blendOS v3 is available in seven distinct editions that range from a GNOME edition all the way to a Deepin one.
You can grab them from the official website, where you can also go through the installation guide.
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