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Looking for a light Ubuntu-based distro that won’t break your hard drive?
How many times have your heard that pitch and then discovered that light usually means stripped or sorely lacking in necessary components and codecs?
Enter Linux Lite 2.8 from New Zealand. Based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr), it carries a feather logo that may seem somewhat familiar to Linux oldsters like myself – it’s the same one carried by the now deceased U.K. based Feather Linux (R.I.P. 2006).
And that’s where the similarity ends. Feather was Knoppix/Debian based, carried a Fluxbox desktop, and was a super lightweight at shy of 125MB. In comparison, Linux Lite packs a much heftier 800MB package.
The website (https://www.linuxliteos.com) claims its OS is “Simple Fast Free”, so let’s put it to the test (yes, I know the punctuation is lacking, but it is on the website, too).
As for the simple aspect, LL (what I’ll call Linux Lite from here on) is not only small in size but will be quite happy with minimal-spec systems. With a base requirement of just 700MHz and 512MB RAM, this should work on just about any PC made after 2000 (truthfully, they do recommend at least twice that much horsepower and RAM for smooth operation).
Guess my decade-old Dell Core Duo pushing 3GB RAM should fit the bill.
Of course, it’s obviously free, but is it fast?
Well, that depends. If you plan on using the Live version off a DVD or USB/flash drive, it won’t be any quicker than any other similar offering but that has always been a drawback to Live systems.
Those opting for a full or VM install will be happy to see the usual Ubiquity installer. A few clicks and keystrokes, and you’ll be ready for setup which takes roughly 20 minutes (faster if you use a USB/flash drive instead of a DVD).
Cold boots are nothing spectacular at around 20 seconds on my decade-old Dell, but I did find it odd, that’s with a GRUB boot delay of 0. Hmmm, that may take some work.
In keeping with the minimalistic theme, the desktop consists of a bottom taskbar with the usual system parameter icons, and a menu button along with the feather logo on a grayish background. Nicely presented while still being functional.
Ah, but here is where things get interesting. After every boot, at least until you tell it otherwise, you’ll get the “Welcome to Linux Lite” pop-up screen, a rather ingenious way of handling basic system needs.
Unlike Mint’s welcome screen, this one actually contains information I found useful after the first few boots (sorry, Mint, but it did become repetitive until I pulled the plug).
Inside this box you’ll find headings for updating and upgrading both the system and software, plus there’s another section for the installation of “Lite” software to include Chrome, Chromium, Tor, Dropbox, Kodi, Skype, Teamviewer and Virtualbox.
This makes updating and upgrading a simple one-click affair instead of waiting for the system to dump a 500MB surprise in your lap at some future date.
As for the Lite software programs, this must be partially built in to the system because installation was a whole lot easier than downloading them individually via Synaptic. I’d be exaggerating if it took any more than 5 minutes to download and install all of those programs mentioned above.
As for software installation, you also find another neat program minimally titled “Lite Software”.
Although the box itself seems simplistic and somewhat crude by design, it’s effective for its intended purpose – installing roughly 15 to 20 of the most often used or requested programs.
For other programs, there’s the Synaptic Package Manager which, in this case, is renamed “Install/Remove Software” (but when it comes up, the header clearly states Synaptic).
The desktop is utilitarian Xfce all the way. If you’re looking for visual pizazz and gizmos galore, you might prefer another distro. It’s functional while not looking ugly in the process.
For such a lightweight package, LL does come with quite a few standard programs such as: • Firefox (with options to install Chrome and Chromium). • LibreOffice 5 (I mention the number since other distros I’ve tried have older versions) with Evince as the PDF add-on. • Thunderbird for email. • GIMP and Image Viewer. • xfburn for CD/DVD production, Clementine and VLC for media playback. • The standard pot of accessories such as calculators and screenshot packages. • Lite Tweaks, a program that cleans the garbage out of your system without having to rely on somewhat questionable outside programs that may do more damage than good. If you’re wondering, no, it’s not related to Ubuntu Tweak. • Systemback, a unique one or two-click backup that can create a live version of your setup without having to install anything else.
Not a bad selection for what should be a light, limited distro.
Even more impressive is that after adding a load of personal program choices plus the built-in offerings, my HDD is down just 7.1GB.
Once you get everything loaded to your liking, the system is not only highly functional and stable, it’s quick to perform also. In fact, the only time I experienced a slowdown was when I used Systemback for a complete ISO image (that did hijack my system for roughly 15 minutes), but I expected that.
That isn’t to state that’s in all hunky-dory here, folks. There was an odd failure to communicate when I went to use the Lite Software package after a couple days of system usage. It developed a tick in the software sources list and gave me an update error based upon the “trusty/main” archives. As such, Lite Software hasn’t worked since.
That’s definitely going to need a workaround although most users will probably click over to other sources such as the Install/Remove Software mentioned before.
So, what’s the final consensus on Linux Lite? Personally, I found it to be just as functional as other lightweights in the Ubuntu family, including Lubuntu and Xubuntu. However, LL has more included programs and is more aesthetically pleasing (it may be a near-barebones OS but it doesn’t look like such).
True, it has a couple quirks and may need a little tweaking, but I’ve experienced a whole lot worse in my day.
In the end analysis, it has a small footprint, some great tweaks, and operates better than most in the class.
Give it a try and I’m sure you’ll agree.