Linux Lite: Not So Lite Any More

Posted on by Robin

I kinda missed an old former favorite, Linux Lite, so I revisited it just to see what’s new.  It installs effortlessly thanks to that awesome Ubiquity installer that I wish Debian-based distros would adopt!  The only thing is, do not select “Download Updates While Installing.”  It messes up and locks the installer, and only a hard restart frees up the computer.  Install it and then update it.  I know, it  supposedly takes longer, but if the installer locks up it takes a lot longer!

Next:  Boot up took a full 4 minutes on a perfectly good Dell Latitude D630 with more than enough RAM and processor speed.  Part of the problem is that Virtualbox / virtual-guest eats up abuncha resources during boot up, and in the friendly Linux Lite forums there are multiple threads about purging that stuff to improve boot time.  What the heck is virtualbox doing in there anyway?  Is this a lightweight distro for older hardware or has that changed?  It still boots up very slowly, but a little better after getting rid of virtualbox / virtual-guest / whatever.

The toolbox I bragged about from Unlockforus.com is no longer maintained.  Linux Lite still has some pretty cool tools of it’s own, but they don’t compare to the wonderful tool set that ships with MX-Linux!

Not very light, not as easy to use as it tries to be, and of course – it’s built from Ubuntu, which makes it high risk compared to Debian Stable or Slackware.  Besides the Ubuntu base, there are multiple PPAs included which increase the risk of breakage.

If you need an ultra-light distro, go with AntiX.  Systemd-free and super-ultra-mega fast, and it includes some of the awesome MX tools!  Easily add a minimal Xfce desktop to it in two clicks if you want, and you’ve got a fantastic newbie-friendly distro that’ll run on very modest hardware.  Still available in 32-bit iso too!

I wish Linux Lite well.  But I can’t recommend it for either Linux novices or older hardware, which is what it’s supposed to be aiming for.

 

6 thoughts on “Linux Lite: Not So Lite Any More”

  1. Reblogged this on Thar She Blows! and commented:
    Here’s an interesting article by a kinda desillusioned Technophobe, in which he confirms some of my points about Linux Lite.
    “I can’t recommend it for either Linux novices or older hardware”
    That’s what I’m saying since quite a long time. Let the n00bs folk install Mint and see them succeed.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Glad to find your blog, and have been enjoying your recent posts.

      In regard to the previous comment, having come to MX Linux from Linux Mint, I cannot recommend Mint to new users. It has become more difficult to support – and seems to “break” more things with each release. The fonts particularly are quite bad on 19 and 19.1.

      MX Linux “just works”. 🙂

      -Comfort for Christians

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    1. Hi Eleme! That’s my impression as well. 3.8 was way cool. On the Forums someone asked if there was a tool to make a LiveCD of your existing system, and the answer was “You might try Systemback, but it’s no longer supported.”

      MX-18 has a tool that does exactly that, plus abuncha other wicked cool stuff that ought to be in Linux Lite. 3.8 was a lot faster and more responsive too, than 4.2 on my older hardware.

      Thanks for stopping by, Eleme! You are always welcome.

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  3. Pingback: Best Linux Lite Yet | Robin's Rants and Raves

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