Full Circle Magazine FR

My Linux journey started with the eeePC, but has included Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Linux Mint KDE edition, Kubuntu, MX 14-16, Puppy Slacko, Bodhi, Lubuntu, Elementary, Peppermint 6, Linux Lite 2.8, Ubuntu MATE, Knoppix, Linux Lite 3.2, Linux Lite 3.4, Linux Lite 3.6. In fact, I have installed Linux Lite on 9 different computers, to date – I have found it to be a very rewarding distribution to use, so I’ve written this piece to say why. Technically, you could call it a review, but that implies some critical comment, which you’ll struggle to find from me. Linux Lite is based on the latest LTS of Ubuntu – so 16.04 is the basis of series 3.0 of Linux Lite, with version 3.8 available for download. Incremental improvements are achieved throughout the series but a new installation is required for the start of a new series. Ubuntu 18.04 will kick off Linux Lite series 4.0. So, in a world of so many Ubuntu derivatives, just what is it that makes Linux Lite stand out for me?

Mon chemin de Linuxien commença avec l'eeePC, mais comprend aussi Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Linux Mint KDE edition, Kubuntu, MX 14-16, Puppy Slacko, Bodhi, Lubuntu, Elementary, Peppermint 6, Linux Lite 2.8, Ubuntu MATE, Knoppix, Linux Lite 3.2, Linux Lite 3.4, Linux Lite 3.6.

En fait, jusqu'à ce jour, j'ai installé Linux Lite sur 9 ordinateurs différents ; je trouve cette distribution très satisfaisante à l'utilisation. Ainsi, j'ai écrit cet article pour expliquer pourquoi. Il pourrait s'appeler techniquement une critique, mais cela implique des commentaires négatifs aussi et vous auriez du mal à en trouver chez moi.

Linux Lite est basé sur la dernière distribution à support à long terme (LTS) d'Ubuntu et la 16.04 est donc la base de la série 3.0 de Linux Lite. La version 3.8 est disponible au téléchargement. Des améliorations incrémentales sont faites le long de la série, mais il faut faire un installation neuve au début d'une nouvelle série. La série 4.0 de Linux Lite commencera avec Ubuntu 18.04.

Bon. Dans un monde de tant de distrib. dérivées d'Ubuntu, pourquoi Linux Lite me paraît-elle tellement exceptionnelle ?

Personal – I don’t get a great kick out of impressive graphics, particularly if they hit my machine’s performance or usability. I like stuff to to ‘just work’. I don’t mind working away to resolve a problem, but I like a reliable core as this makes it clearer where a problem may lie. And I’m no expert, despite having had close encounters with computers for nearly 40 years, so I like an OS that tells me what it’s doing and, with a bit of effort on my part, how. Hardware – I don’t throw away older PCs, I rehabilitate them for charitable uses or fund-raising. So I need an OS that can run on less memory and slower processors. But I also have a Tower desktop, and an Acer laptop, each with 8GB RAM, and I prefer to run them with Linux Lite too, so it’s not just about being mean with memory usage. Ease of use – I want an OS to be easy to configure for different needs and preferences. The desktop must be capable of changes to layout and appearance to suit different preferences, hardware and different skill levels. Equally important are the settings for ancillaries such as screen, touchpad, printer, etc, little changes which enable us to match our tools to our computer usage in a way that we find efficient and congenial.

Raisons personnelles - les graphismes impressionnants ne me passionnent pas outre mesure, surtout s'ils diminuent les performances ou l'opérabilité de ma machine. Quand les trucs « fonctionnent tout simplement », j'en suis content. Cela ne me dérange pas de devoir travailler pour résoudre un problème, mais j'aime un cœur fiable, car cela aide à diagnostiquer le problème. Et, malgré le fait que je rencontre des ordinateurs depuis presque 40 ans (et parfois, ces rencontres sont du troisième type), je suis loin d'être un expert et j'aime bien un système d'exploitation qui me dit ce qu'il fait et, après un peu d'efforts de ma part, comment.

Raisons matérielles - je ne jette pas de PC vieillissants, je les rénove à des fins de bienfaisance ou de collecte de fonds. Par conséquent, j'ai besoin d'un OS qui peut tourner sur moins de mémoire et avec un processeur assez lent. Mais j'ai aussi un ordinateur de bureau Tower et un portable Acer, chacun ayant 8 Go de RAM, et je préfère les utiliser également sous Linux Lite ; ainsi, ce n'est pas une question de vouloir épargner la RAM.

Raisons d'utilisation - je veux un OS qui soit facile à configurer pour des besoins et des préférences différentes. L'environnement de bureau doit pouvoir modifier la disposition et l'apparence des éléments pour convenir à des préférences, du matériel et des niveaux de compétences différents. Tout aussi imporant sont les paramètres pour les périphériques, tels que l'écran, le pavé tactile, l'imprimante, etc. : les petites modifications qui nous permettent de faire accorder nos outils à notre utilisation de l'ordinateur d'une façon conviviale et efficace.

Easy to maintain – not just system updates, supplied reliably and capable of fuss-free implementation, but routine tasks such as backup and storage management which can easily absorb too much productive time if they can’t be set up and run easily and consistently. So coping with this range of varying requirements, I find is the great strength of Linux Lite. It has a modest, not to say rather lack-lustre name perhaps, but one that also says a lot about its philosophy – ‘Lite’ as in suitable for older machines with lower specs, but also ‘Lite’ as ‘not intensive’, not requiring a big learning effort to deploy effectively. I first installed it when rescuing a Windows 7 laptop for a friend. This was 2.8, and I liked the look of it, so, when the advent of Ubuntu 16.04 prompted a review of my installations, I put version 3.0 (based on 16.04) on to one of my own machines. Linux Lite is now at 3.6 and I have it on a PC tower and 3 laptops of mine and have installed it on 5 older laptops for other people. Its Ubuntu base means it installs easily, gives it access to a large range of software, and it is very actively maintained, particularly for dealing with security issues. But it has that in common with most Ubuntu-based distributions.

Usability Linux Lite uses the XFCE desktop, now at version 4.12, described in the late lamented Linux Voice Magazine (Linux Voice Issue 25) in this way: “It’s a great-looking, powerful desktop that doesn’t steal too many cycles from your CPU, nor memory from your RAM, while still managing to look sleek and modern. XFCE is stable and comprehensive, including everything you need, from session management and an application finder, to its low-resource yet super-powerful Thunar file manager. … It’s also stable and mature, with few changes being made from one release to another. …. It does what it’s designed to do with very little fuss.” I don’t think I can add to that except to say Linux Lite is almost a perfect match for it and makes the most of its flexible, “little fuss” approach to the desktop environment and functionality. At the core of Linux Lite's success as an operating system is its twin focus on efficiency and usability, and it works well with XFCE to achieve that – a bit more on this later. Welcome to the new user On a new install, a Welcome page pops up on boot (until you tell it you don’t want it any more), not a new idea but uniquely modified so that essential post-installation tasks are highlighted and can be run directly from the Welcome page, linking to the Help Manual as you go.

A Welcome Page with Actions From the Welcome Page the new user can • update the system, • install any special drivers needed, • implement full language support throughout the system and applications software, and create a first Restore point using SystemBack. Note too the links for Support, including the Help manual and Hardware Database. Help and Support In fact, the next striking aspect of Linux Lite is its Help Manual. Available online but also installed by default on the desktop, it loads up easily in a browser and presents a very accessible set of documents very clearly. I don't know another help system in common use that presents its topics as clearly as this, particularly for someone new to the system. Each Contents page topic opens immediately to a sub-title menu helping you to easily identify the right information track for you. Each of the notes themselves is written clearly and simply, and the Help Manual could in fact be useful to almost any inexperienced user of a Debian or Ubuntu based system.

In addition, underpinning every user is an excellent Support Forum (linked to from the Welcome screen, and elsewhere) which gets constant attention from developers, including the ‘main man’, Jerry Bezencon. I have found problems get dealt with constructively and promptly, so it’s rare to have an unresolvable problem without at least a suggestion for a workaround. And solutions often find their way seamlessly into upcoming upgrades. Lite Tweaks and other Lite additions When you get past initial setup, you find there are a host of extra utilities, some substantial, some quite small, but all invaluable, that help with basic housekeeping of the system. Most of these are purpose-written for Linux Lite, identified in the menus as “Lite” programs. The one I find myself turning to most often is Lite Tweaks. It presents a wide range of configuration, repair, management and installation issues, some particularly suitable for older machines (eg Clear Memory), some helping with quite advanced issues (e.g. Installation of specific kernels). Lite Tweaks is a very practical and pragmatic way of helping ordinary users manage a wide range of common but potentially tricky problems with confidence.

Other Lite programs include: • Lite Software – a selection of packages for simple installation – see screenshot below. • Lite Sources – a way of selecting the most convenient repositories for your Lite Software. • Lite Updates Notify – an easy way to set how frequently you will be reminded of the need for updates. • Lite Upgrade – an upgrade utility for moving to the next point upgrade within a major series, e.g. 3.4 - 3.6. • Lite User Manager – user account management. • Lite Widget – a neat Conky-based system display for the desktop. Hibernation – reliable at last There are many details about this installation that make using and maintaining it much more agreeable than any other I have used - FOSS or proprietary - but it could be tedious to list them all. Instead I will highlight just one of its many virtues, namely, the ability to hibernate in a swift and reliable fashion. Hibernation has always seemed a brilliant idea - just close down as you are and later resume with everything as it was. This was always over-promised until now, slow to close, even slower to reload, and often failing to reload properly. In fact, I gave up long ago trying to use it in Windows, and several Ubuntu-based distros still disable it by default.

Linux Lite enables it out-of-the-box (but see Lite Tweaks for the option to disable it). When selected, it closes down quite quickly - though my usual 30+ Firefox tabs do often prove a bit slow to digest - and it resumes only a little more slowly than a standard (typically speedy) boot. The process has improved throughout series 3 of the OS, and works brilliantly on my 11 yr old Core2Duo laptop (refurbished with 2GB memory and an SSD). Other Features To attract A New User? A good range of software, of course, all accessible through a clearly laid out, configurable menu system – Synaptic is available as well as Lite Software, and new installations are always to be found in a sensible place in the XFCE Whisker menu, which can be additionally configured via a Settings menu program. Linux Lite provides a simple default desktop that will be familiar in style to practically all users – menu button bottom left, in a panel with selected program launchers, a status bar for opened programs, a virtual desktop switcher, and an indicator bar. But XFCE 4.12 offers a number of flexible ways of configuring the desktop look and functionality to suit individual user wishes and sense of aesthetics.

I have a 2006 Core2Duo laptop which suits this layout, but I also have an Acer Aspire V3-571 in typical widescreen format where I've found it helpful to set the panel vertically. Here I've embellished – perhaps over-embellished - the standard panel by using it in a vertical dual-row deskbar mode, inserting grouped launchers for many programs, and incorporating a window status panel, as well as notifications and indicator panels. It may be a bit fussy, but that's my fault – not the system's. It does demonstrate, however, how easy it is to change from the standard appearance if you want to. This to me epitomises the way attention has been paid to getting everything to work together consistently and reliably, and to the emphasis placed on usability for the ordinary user in the choices made in putting the distribution together and developing it.

An OS For All Seasons Although the name Linux Lite might make you assume it is geared primarily to low memory machines, in fact its consistency and flexibility make it suitable for many types of hardware, and user, and 2 of my machines now run it with 8GB RAM. I find too that the clarity of the Help Manual and the constructiveness of the Forum have enabled me to develop my knowledge and skill levels in Linux to a greater degree than with other Linux distros, which is highly satisfying. For me, the fact that it has low basic hardware requirements is an advantage, as the main reason for installing is its great usability. For anyone who finds their OS tends to get in the way of productive computing, Linux Lite is definitely worth a look. References Linux Lite Home page www.linuxliteos.com Linux Lite Support www.linuxliteos.com/support.html Hardware Database linuxliteos.com/hardware.php Help Manual www.linuxliteos.com/manual Downloads linuxliteos.com/download.php Linux Voice Desktop Review, Issue 26 May 2016, available under Creative Commons licence. Linux Voice is now part of Linux / Linux Pro Magazine, see www.linux-magazine.com/Issues