March 20 2017 EmmaDE with Lilo and UEFI included

On March 20 2017, EmmaDE 1.02 with Lilo and UEFI included !



On March 20, 2017, the Emmabuntüs Collective is happy to announce the release of the new Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 1.02 (32 and 64 bits), based on Debian 8.7 distribution and featuring the XFCE desktop environment.

This distribution was originally designed to facilitate the reconditioning of computers donated to humanitarian organizations, starting with the Emmaüs communities (which is where the distribution's name obviously comes from), to promote the discovery of GNU/Linux by beginners, as well as to extend the lifespan of computer hardware in order to reduce the waste induced by the overconsumption of raw materials (1).

This update is released to ease even more the refurbishing workload on all the associations using Emmabuntüs, and on our JerryClan friends in France and Africa who practice intensively the recycling of computer components while they are building their Jerry Do It Together. They are located in Ivory Coast, Togo, Cameroon, in the Ayiyikoh or DouaLab laboratories, and all use Jerrys under Emmabuntüs to develop innovative projects in their respective territories. This new version should also further help those who are running training classes and particularly in Africa : YovoTogo, JUMP Lab'Orione, and RAP2S. If you want more details concerning our various cooperations with these associations, please read this interview which summarizes the 5 years of our collective existence.

This new version support our efforts even more efficiently, thanks to this three improvement axis :


 * the solidarity, with the Lilo search engine,
 * the reuse, by supporting the new UEFI standard (2) during the installation,
 * the closure of the digital divide, by giving to the beginners the opportunity to discover an accessible GNU/Linux operating system, in this case based on Debian, with the appropriate documentation. In fact, “The beginner's handbook” published by our friends of the 3HG Team, are included in this distribution.

Starting immediately and by default, Emmabuntüs uses Lilo, the alternative search engine on the web. This decision was taken for two good reasons : the actions taken by the engine to respect the privacy of the web users, and the possibility to redistribute to different associations the incomes generated by the advertising (3).

The money earned by Emmabuntüs is totally and directly redistributed to our partners YovoTogo, JUMP Lab'Orione and Montpel'libre and will allow them to finance social and environmental projects.

As of today this list is small, but we hope to be soon in position to extend it to other partners, thanks to your growing support on the Lilo platform.



The Lilo search engine now integrated within Emmabuntüs

Another new feature is the capability to install Emmabuntüs on recent 64bits computer using the UEFI mode. Thus we increase the hardware compatibility with modern computers, which will enable their easy refurbishing and expand their lifespan.

On the documentation front, this release includes “The beginner's handbook”, an essential reading produced by the 3HG Team fellows conducted by our friend arpinux ;). Our collective did contribute to its English version, and we hope to be able to contribute further to the development of this outstanding tool. Also part of this release are the latest updated presentations and tutorials which are also available on the Developpez.com web site, as well as some data belonging to the free culture (various off-line encyclopedias).

This Debian Edition 1.02 version includes the following fixes and enhancements :


 * based on Debian 8.7
 * supports the 64bits version of UEFI
 * improves the installation process for 586 based computers (non PAE)
 * includes the Lilo search engine by default, replacing Qwant
 * adds “The beginner's handbook” released on December 20, 2016.
 * adds the English version of the Emmabuntüs Tutorials
 * updates the Emmabuntüs Wiki
 * updates of TurboPrint, Ancestris, HPLip
 * adds the usb-modeswitch package to support the 3G USB keys
 * adds an utility to enable/disable by default the Emmabuntüs Cairo-Dock
 * adds Systemback
 * adds Baobab and Mint Stick utilities
 * disables the LXDE task bar when the Dock if active
 * updates the Dock launchers to open the default web browser
 * fixes the Audacious open bug when clicking on the Cairo-Dock wastebasket
 * fixes KeePassX sending qwerty characters instead of azerty
 * swaps RecordmyDesktop by Kazam
 * swaps Catfish by Gnome-search-tool
 * swaps Pipelight by Freshplayer
 * sets the Thunar path selector in path bar mode
 * increases the double click time delay
 * fixes the duplicate non-free repository in live mode
 * fixes the missing command hints within a terminal

As of March 20 2017, this version can be downloaded from our emmabuntus.org site, or from this other link download.emmabuntus.org.

We encourage you to give your old computers to charities.

Here are some links to install and to use this distro: List of applications, Installation, Personalization, but also the traditional F.A.Q

If you have any problems or comments, you can contact us on: Forum, Diaspora*, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, contact

Note :

According to the ADEME from manufacturing to disposal, through its use, each stage of the life of the computer equipment can be quantified by its environmental impact: making a computer and a screen requires 1.8 tons of resources (240 kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals, 1500 liters of water).

For the Ecoinfo's group the priority is to act. Each member of the group does it by himself (purchasing, maintenance, development of networks), but everyone of us can also contribute by his personal behavior. Their conclusion: " If it is already possible to intervene at all stages of the hardware cycle, the most effective action you can take is to limit the environmental impact of these materials by reducing your purchases and by increasing their lifetime !".


 * Where does e-waste end up ?
 * 11 Facts About E-Waste
 * Environmental implications and carbon footprint

Note 2 : UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a specification defining a new interface between the operating system and the hardware. UEFI replaces and enhance the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) firmware interface, which was historically present on all personal computers.

More and more donated computers feature this new interface on their motherboard, and it became very important for us to support this new functionality in the frame of our easy computer refurbishing scenario.

Note 3 : And yes, Lilo uses advertising to generate revenue. Like does Google indeed. However, you should notice that these are non-intrusives ads and contribute to the good cause : thanks to them, our humanitarian and ethical projects can be financed. Here after an example in this screen capture :