Interested in exploring Gentoo but concerned about its complexity? Redcore offers a user-friendly solution to make installation and management hassle-free. It’s a Gentoo-based Linux distribution that aims to make Gentoo’s power more accessible and user-friendly.
The distro is based on Gentoo’s testing branch, which uses a hardened profile by default. It offers multiple additional security services on top of the well-known Gentoo Linux installation.
After 11 months of development since the previous release, Redcore Linux Hardened 2401, codenamed “Tarazed,” is here, so let’s see what new features it offers.
What’s New in Redcore Linux 2401
While retaining its familiar look and feel, this new release boasts substantial under-the-hood enhancements. It aligns closely with Gentoo Linux’s testing tree as of January 21, 2024, ensuring users can access the latest and most stable software.
On the desktop side, this update includes the most recent Plasma 5.27.10 and KDE Frameworks 5.114.0, accompanied by KDE Gear 23.08.4, a collection of software maintained by the KDE community.
A notable upgrade in Redcore Linux 2401 is the inclusion of the Linux kernel 6.6 LTS as the default option. Older versions like 6.1 LTS and 5.15 LTS are also available in the repositories for those preferring previous iterations.
At the same time, the toolchain has received a significant boost, now featuring glibc 2.37, GCC 13.2.0, Binutils 2.40, Clang/LLVM 17.0.6, and Rust 1.74.1.
Regarding graphics, users can experience the latest Mesa, Xorg, Xwayland, and Wayland stacks, ensuring a seamless and visually rich computing experience.
A key shift in this release is the adoption of PipeWire as the default sound server, replacing the older PulseAudio and JACK, thereby modernizing the distribution’s sound infrastructure.
Security, a paramount concern for Linux users, is reinforced with the default implementation of OpenSSL 3, moving away from the older OpenSSL 1. Similarly, FFmpeg 6 has become the standard, replacing the previous version, 4, indicating a significant step forward in multimedia capabilities.
Redcore Linux 2401 also spotlights a complete overhaul of Sisyphus, Redcore’s package manager. This rewrite decouples the backend from the front end, offering a cleaner and improved API.
The new Sisyphus is smarter, providing suggestions for package names and allowing installation without explicit marking.
Refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
