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Kali Linux 2.0 Released

An anonymous reader writes: Kali Linux 2.0 has been released, together which an assortment of interesting new features. Most importantly, Kali is now a rolling distribution, using Debian Testing as their upstream source. (Download page.) There are also huge changes to the UI, including a fully fledged, custom GNOME 3 environment, as well as support for myriad other Desktop Environments. The maintainers describe the release this way: "If Kali 1.0 was focused on building a solid infrastructure then Kali 2.0 is focused on overhauling the user experience and maintaining updated packages and tool repositories." I'm enjoying 2.0 so far. What are your thoughts and comments?

2 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. systemd is one reason not to use Debian. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Maybe you haven't heard, but Debian switched to using systemd a little while ago. The results have been, how should we put it, not so good. Although unwanted by much of the Debian community, systemd was forced into use through political maneuvering. It was then forced through unstable and testing much too soon. Many long-time Debian users suffered from broken installations. Ever since it ended up in Debian 8, a supposed "stable" release, far too many people have experienced problems with it. Many of its problems actually can't be fixed; they're inherently broken by their very nature. Its use of binary logging is a perfect example of this. The only way to fix binary logging is to not use it at all.

    Due to how disruptive systemd was to Debian, both politically and technically, the Debian community has been split. There is the small minority who pushed for the inclusion of systemd in the first place. A small number of fanatics went off and tried, unsuccessfully, to fork Debian in to the failed Devuan distro. Many other Debian users have chosen to move to other operating systems that offer greater stability and robustness, including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, OS X, and even Windows.

    What was once the most talented and helpful Linux community has been shattered and fragmented. The most awful thing about this whole ordeal is that it wasn't Microsoft, or SCO, or anyone outside of the project that caused so much harm. It was a self-inflicted destruction! The greatest harm to Linux isn't some corporation; it's those within the community who wish to force problematic software like systemd upon all Linux users.

    1. Re: systemd is one reason not to use Debian. by keneng · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I use Debian unstable. It's wonderful with gnome and where necessary lxde is good too. Kali 2.0 on USB 3.0 boots up fast on 2 laptops, a server and desktop I tried. Intel and and CPUs. Systemd is looking good IMHO. The only problems I have are building Kali images for amd64 and armhf myself. It didn't build successfully for me. This points to some rough spots live-build. I'm also experiencing live-build pain directly on two boards armhf with ROCKCHIP. More docs and support from Rockchip directly would be nice.