September 5 2016 EmmaDE on the roof of the world

On September 5 2016, EmmaDE on the roof of the world !



On September 5, 2016, the Emmabuntüs Collective is happy to announce the release of the new Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 1.01 available for 32 and 64 bits, based on Debian 8.5 distribution featuring the XFCE desktop environment.

This distribution was originally designed to facilitate the reconditioning of computers given to humanitarian organizations, especially Emmaüs communities (which is where the distribution's name obviously comes from), and to promote the discovery of GNU/Linux by beginners, as well as to extend the lifespan of computer hardware and, as such, reduce the overconsumption of raw materials ( * ).

We hope that this new Debian based version will be adopted by the associations with which we collaborate : YovoTogo and JUMP Lab'Orione (The march of the YovoTogo children toward the digital age), Ailleurs-Solidaires and CaLviX (Emmabuntüs, the Linux for « Ailleurs Solidaires »), Ayiyikoh (Jerry and the women), THOT CIS (With THOT for a 2.0 solidarity), Montpel'libre (The dragonfly of Liberty, from Equality to Fraternity), Trira, RAP2S, etc.

We surely hope also that Emmabuntüs-DE will be used by new projects of refurbishing and education, like was Emmabubtüs 3, and that it will continue to delight the Katmandu's children in Nepal (The new look of the Akashganga school’s main gate), who had their school main gate repainted with two new mascots, in order to express their gratitude to our distribution, after they received some portable computers donated by Ailleurs-Solidaires and CaLviX asssociations. The DSA center for disabled children in Nepal will also use this new version. After being trained on Emmabuntüs-3, 300 Nepalese children gonna use this new version in the next coming days.



This version of EmmaDE includes new versions of our set of tutorials on installation, presentation and free culture data. For the time being they are available in French only, and will be published later on the Developpez.com site. The English versions will be then translated by our friend Yves, and included in the release of version 1.02.

This version also includes the beautiful cahiers du débutant pour Debian [the beginner textbooks for Debian] made by our friend arpinux,and one of our goals is to translate them into the language of Shakespeare.

This 1.01 version includes the following updates, fixes and improvements:


 * Based on Debian 8.5
 * Implementation of the 64-bit version (Thanks to the handylinux project)
 * Added the improved management of the Recovery Utility
 * Added installation management utility for proprietary drivers from the distribution SolydXK
 * Added the default reinstall utility of Emmabuntüs Cairo-Dock (Thanks to Robert)
 * Added mechanism for locking or not the Emmabuntüs Cairo-Dock
 * Added the full screen management in VirtualBox
 * Added quick search in Synaptic
 * Added XFCE4-screenshooter configuration file to avoid having ":" in the default file name
 * Added utility KeepassX
 * Added integration Wine shortcuts in XFCE and link to the installation (Thanks to Bernard)
 * Added the list of users at the login window
 * Added installation tutorials and presentation of Emma DE (Thanks to arpinux, Rudolph, Yves)
 * Updated Firefox and Chromium plugins
 * Updated Emmabuntüs wiki
 * Updated the Emmabuntüs Cairo-Dock launcher utility in order to block changes of the dock (Thanks to Robert)
 * Updated utility to allow the non activation of the dock after installation and activation of the task manager (Thanks to Fiche)
 * Updated the theme Ambiance-Color, and improved the XFCE panel (Thanks to Dmitry)
 * Changed the size of the / (root) partition from 10 GB to 30 GB in guided mode for home and multi schemes (Thanks to Yves and Raphaël Hertzog especially for his advices)
 * GIMP configuration with a single window (Thanks to the handylinux project) and Skin Update for GIMP (Thanks to JC)
 * Validation without administrator rights of the auto-login, and disable the notifications window to launch an application without user right (Thanks to Frafa)
 * Removed the automatic partitioning method during installation.

This version will be available as of September 5 2016, from our homepage: emmabuntus.org, or by using directly this 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, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Diaspora, 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 cycle of hardware, the most effective action you can have is to limit the environmental impact of these materials by reducing your purchases and by increasing their life ! ".


 * ''Extract from Lettre N°3 – Octobre 2008 : L'informatique omniprésente. Quel impact sur l'environnement ?
 * Exposition Le numérique et l'environnement (Analyse Le numérique et l'environnement )''
 * Quelle est l’empreinte carbone d’un ordinateur ?