lite

After seeing DistroWatch's review of Linux Lite 4.0, I decided to check it out. I downloaded linux-lite-4.0-64bit.iso and used md5sum to check the download:

$ md5sum linux-lite-4.0-64bit.iso
f4ff50524b7fb18fe97a6748db1318ec  linux-lite-4.0-64bit.iso

I wanted to try booting the iso from the hard drive instead of booting from a flash drive like I normally do when I want to take a look at a live session of a distro release. My "test" computer is currently home to BunsenLabs Deuterium; booting into that system, I created the directory /isoimage, then copied the Linux Lite iso into that. Then I edited the /etc/grub.d/40_custom file so that it now looks like this:

#!/bin/sh
exec tail -n +3 $0
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
menuentry "Linux Lite 4.0 (iso on /dev/sda1)" {
  set isofile="/isoimage/linux-lite-4.0-64bit.iso"
  loopback loop (hd0,1)$isofile
  linux (loop)/casper/vmlinuz boot=casper iso-scan/filename=$isofile noprompt noeject
  initrd (loop)/casper/initrd.gz
}

Then I ran sudo update-grub, then rebooted. That gave me a grub menu entry for Linux Lite 4.0. I booted into the live session.

Linux Lite 4.0 is based on Ubuntu 18.04 (LTS), and ships with Xfce 4.12.3. Here's what the system looks like at first boot:

The Welcome screen has a "Help Manual" button (there's also an icon for the manual on the desktop), so I clicked on that. The manual, which is stored in the /usr/share/docs/litemanual directory, opens up in Firefox. It can also be found at https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/. I haven't spent much time checking it out, but it seems to cover a good number of topics.

Some of the apps included in the release: firefox, gnome-calculator, gimp, hardinfo, inxi, htop, leafpad, libreoffice, xfce-terminal, qpdf, rsync, gparted, shotwell, synaptic, thunderbird, and vlc. Also included are several tools created specifically for Linux Lite that are supposed to make life easier for users. And, much more; Linux Lite 4.0 appears to be fully loaded and ready to use out-of-the-box.

Of course, I wanted to see the repo setup. The repos enabled by default in /etc/apt/sources.list:

deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ bionic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu bionic partner

Also, I found some files in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d directory. Enabled in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/linuxlite.list:

deb http://repo.linuxliteos.com/linuxlite/ diamond main

Enabled in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/otto-kesselgulasch-ubuntu-gimp-xenial.list:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/otto-kesselgulasch/gimp/ubuntu bionic main

Enabled in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teejee2008-ubuntu-ppa-bionic.list:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/teejee2008/ppa/ubuntu bionic main

So, a few PPA things going on, and some stuff from Linux Lite's own repos, and the rest from Bionic (Ubuntu 18.04).

To me, the live session of Linux Lite 4.0 looked about as good as anything else I've seen that ships with Xfce. I haven't quite decided whether I like it better than MX-17, which I keep on a flash drive for the occasional live session; might come down to a coin flip. Excellent job, from where I sit.