Lubuntu 14.10 "Utopic Unicorn" Review: Much improved over the LTS version

Lubuntu's Trusty Tahr LTS release actually put me off because of the Wifi bug and using nm-applet I found a workaround. My expectation was higher from the LTS release honestly. So, I started evaluating the Lubuntu's latest release, 14.10, with almost zero expectation and I was pleasantly surprised. The release note states that this release is kind of calm before the storm.

"A new version of our operating system has been released. You won't notice many cosmetic changes, as this version is considered as a bug-fix release, preparing the way to meet LXQt. Here are some changes: general bug-fix release as we prepare for LXQt; many LXDE components have been updated with bug-fix releases; an update of the artwork (more icons, theme update, more compatibilities); the Ubuntu 14.10 release with 3.16-based kernel; Firefox is updated to version 33; GTK+ updated to version 3.12; X.Org 1.16 has better support for non-PCI devices." 

From Lubuntu 14.10 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

For this review, I downloaded the 64-bit Lubuntu 14.10 702 MB ISO and created a live USB using Linux Mint Image Writer. I used my favorite test laptop, Asus K55VM, to test the brand new release from Lubuntu. Before jumping on to the review, let me start with what is new in Lubuntu 14.10.

What is new in Lubuntu 14.10?

• General bug fix release as we prepare for LXQt.
• Many LXDE components have been updated with bug fix releases.
• An update of the artwork (more icons, theme update, more compatibilities ...).
• Linux kernel updated to 3.16, enhanced support for the latest Intel CPUs (Cherryview, Haswell, Broadwell and Merrifield systems), initial support for Nvidia GK30A and GK110B GPUs and enhanced audio support for ATI Radeon devices
• Updated Packages, like Ubuntu 14.10

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Peppermint OS Five Review: Move over Lubuntu - Peppermint with 5 years of support is here!

Peppermint OS is a Lubuntu based distro offering lightening fast speed, superb cloud and web-based applications and is easy on system resources. On 23 June 2014, Kendall Weaver announced the release of Peppermint OS Five, a Lubuntu-based lightweight and easy-to-use desktop Linux distribution: "Peppermint OS LLC is excited to announce the launch of our latest operating system, Peppermint Five. Lightweight and designed for speed, Peppermint Five delivers on that promise whether using software on your desktop, online, or using cloud-based applications. Highlights: built on a long-term support (LTS) code base, Ubuntu 14.04; Peppermint Ice is our in-house built SSB manager, it has been rewritten from scratch and is now significantly more stable and more feature rich than past versions; we've fixed a number of upstream bugs present in Lubuntu, the specific project we fork from; Peppermint-Light is our new window manager and widget theme designed to offer a clean and relatively flat look and feel."

From Peppermint 5 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

For this review, I downloaded the 600 MB 64 MB ISO which features LXDE desktop, Linux kernel 3.13.0 and PCManFM 1.2.0 as the file manager. I created a live USB using Linux Mint Image writer and installed Peppermint on my Asus K55VM.

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LXLE 14.04 Review: The best LXDE distro I've used till date

LXLE's USP in previous releases used to be Lubuntu with long term support, as Lubuntu didn't have a LTS spin till recently. And hence, the acronym LXLE from Lubuntu eXtra Life Extension. However, in 2014 with Lubuntu itself releasing an LTS version, I wanted to check how LXLE can entice users to continue using it over Lubuntu. As Ronnie Whisler's release notes states, it is time for the distro to evolve:

"LXLE acronym change, originally 'Lubuntu eXtra Life Extension' which made sense before Lubuntu had an official LTS release, since 14.04 however, LXLE will now adopt the nomenclature 'LXDE eXtra Luxury Edition' and we think this release doubles down on that; to better support 32-bit hardware we updated 12.04.4 to be virtually identical to LXLE 14.04 64-bit release including features, updated software and system components; PCManFM additions such as open directories and text as root, create shortcuts, rename base icon names, copy to folder, right click desktop trash to empty; Launch (Fehlstart), Run (Gexec), and Terminal (RoxTerm) all have hotkeys enabled to open them using the keyboard for faster access...."

From LXLE 14.04 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.com

On 14th June, 2014, LXLE released it's 64-bit spin, LXLE 14.04. There is no 32-bit spin yet. I guess I can understand the reason why these days even lightweight operating systems prefer 64-bit OS over 32-bit. Just check any e-commerce site for low budget laptops, you'll see the market is flooded with Windows 8 laptops under $500 with Intel Celeron/Pentium/Atom processors and under 4 GB RAM. I could not install 32-bit version in Secureboot and UEFI enabled systems. However, 64-bit worked with elan. Possibly, these distros are targeting users who bought these modern low powered systems but will soon get tired of Windows 8's crazy desktop and switch to Linux. I know quite a few people did it, even I did it myself!

Anyway, coming back to the topic, I downloaded the 64-bit ISO, about 1.5 GB in size. I created a live USB with Linux Mint Image Writer and booted it on my test laptop, Asus K55VM. LXLE 14.04 ships with LXDE desktop with Linux kernel 3.13.0 and PCManFM 1.2.0bas the default file manager. It is based on Ubuntu Trusty Tahr, the recently released LTS spin with 5 years of support. I am not sure if the support on LXLE 14.04 is also 5 years just like it used to be earlier or is it 3 years like Lubuntu 14.04.

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Lubuntu 14.04 "Trusty Tahr" Review: All well except the Wifi bug!

The reason I don't review many LXDE distros these days is that I am waiting for the release of LXDE-Qt. I am expecting a highly functional and lightweight desktop - LXQt whose alpha release will be out anytime soon. Of course, the latest release of Lubuntu doesn't have LXQt but it is the first Lubuntu release with long term support of 3 years. Hence, naturally I was interested to try it out and write a decent review on this historic Lubuntu release.

In the release note, Mario Behling has announced the release of Lubuntu 14.04, a lightweight variant of Ubuntu that provides the minimalist LXDE desktop and a selection of light applications: "Julien Lavergne has released Lubuntu 14.04. Features: based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment; PCManFM, a fast and lightweight files manager using GIO/GVFS; Openbox, a fast and extensible default window manager of LXDE; LightDM, a simple GTK+ greeter; Firefox, the famous web browser; based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. Improvements since Lubuntu 13.10: LTS Support (3 years); new PCManFM (version 1.2.0) with a lot of new features (folder settings, dual-pane view, menu editing); new LXSession default applications with a new user interface; an update of the artwork (new icons, theme update)."

From Lubuntu 14.04 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 694 MB 64-bit Lubuntu 14.04 LTS ISO, used Linux Mint Image Writer to create a live USB and then installed it on my Asus K55VM with 2.3 Ghz Core i7 processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce 630M graphic card. I know that it not the best machine to test Lubuntu but I don't have any other 64-bit machine, rest of my machines are 32-bit.

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LXLE 12.04.4 Review: Much more than a lightweight distro!

While using LXDE for last one week or so, I noted that I haven't reviewed a single LXDE distro for last 4 months. The last LXDE distro I reviewed was Lubuntu 13.10 32-bit edition. In between I refrained from trying out LXDE distros, possibly waiting for LXDE-Qt to release sometime in 2014. However, when the 4th update of LXLE 12.04, the LXDE distro with 5 years of support, got released in Feb, I couldn't resist myself. This is perhaps the best LXDE distro I've ever used and somehow I never managed to find time to pen down a review on it! Now I am making up for it.

From LXLE 12.04.4 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

For this review, I downloaded the 64-bit ISO of LXLE 12.04.4. As mentioned, it is a LXDE distro with long term support (LTS), based on Ubuntu Precise Pangolin. The Lubuntu 12.04 didn't have support for more than 18 months and hence, LXLE has the advantage of longer support (5 years, till April, 2017), over Lubuntu. Unlike Ubuntu Precise, LXLE ships with the Linux kernel 3.2.0 (Ubuntu Precise now has kernel 3.11.0). The release note states of the following improvements:
"After patiently waiting for Ubuntu to officially announce their 12.04.4 update and once the number of seeders of LXLE grew to an adequate level to 'serve' it, LXLE 12.04.4 has been released. This particular release builds on the idea that many 'at idle' processes can be replaced by 'on demand' solutions, such as weather, battery, updates, power management, etc. It also introduces microcode kernel updates for your processor and preload, a readahead daemon, by default. Notable new features: LXLE PPA enabled by default; updated core LXDE components; updated BleachBit, Catfish, MiniTube; updated Elementary icon set; added Steam, VokoScreen, Schedule Tasks; GNOME Commander replaced with Sunflower; Fast Forecast replaced with Typhoon; GDiskDump replaced with Startup Disk Creator; enhanced Firefox and bookmarks toolbar...."

I used my Asus laptop K55VM with 2.3 Ghz Core i7 processor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM and 2 GB NVIDIA GeForce graphic card as the test machine. First I created a live USB using Unetbootin and then used it to live boot & finally install on the Asus laptop. I'll take you step by step the experience I had with LXLE in the subsequent sections.

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Lubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" Review: Offers fantastic performance and possibly the best Lubuntu release I have used

The Ubuntu 13.10 release is out a couple of days ago and it is named as "Saucy Salamander" in continuation with the tradition of naming each release with an "Adjective Animal". I downloaded all five of the main releases: Ubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu. However, I start my review with my favorite of the Ubuntu flavors: Lubuntu.

Lubuntu combines the goodness of Ubuntu with the lightweight X11 desktop (LXDE) and lightweight applications. Lubuntu's website states that the target segment for Lubuntu are the "normal" PC users running on low spec hardware. However, Lubuntu has found acceptance among Linux users on account of a couple of things: (1) lower resource consumption, (2) relatively stable LXDE desktop (possibly becomes more relevant if I consider the changes going through in GNOME 3 and KDE 4, and not to forget Ubuntu's own Unity). Constraints are there as well - LXDE may not be the easiest DE to configure for Linux novices.

From Lubuntu 13.10 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

The release note of Lubuntu 13.10 in Distrowatch states of the following improvements:

"Julien Lavergne has released Lubuntu 13.10. Features: based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment; PCManFM - a fast and lightweight file manager; Openbox -a fast and extensible default windows manager of LXDE; LightDM using a simple GTK+ greeter; Firefox as the new web browser for Lubuntu 13.10; based on Ubuntu 13.10. Improvements since Lubuntu 13.04: new version of PCManFM and libfm (1.1.0) including a built-in search utility; artwork improvements, including new wallpapers, community wallpapers and new icons; removed Catfish since PCManFM has its own search utility; fixed a very old bug causing GNOME MPlayer to crash with some CPUs; several fixes for the GPicView image viewer."

I downloaded the 700 MB 32 bit ISO for review. Generally I find 32-bit with pae kernel offer better performance over the 64 bit versions. Further, a lot of applications work better with 32-bit versions. I used Unetbootin to create a live USB and then install it on my Asus K54C laptop with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor, 2 GB DDR3 RAM and Intel HD 3000 graphics. I used a 10 GB partition to install the distro. Lubuntu 13.10 comes with LXDE 0.5 desktop with Linux kernel 3.11.0 and PCManFM 1.1.2 as file manager.

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Zorin OS 7 "Lite" Review: Beautiful and functional LXDE operating system

Zorin has a history of creating pretty refined Ubuntu spins specifically targeted to newcomers. Their recent release Zorin OS 7 is based on Ubuntu 13.04 and it has 6 months of support. I earlier reviewed the Zorin OS 7 Core (with GNOME desktop) and found it to be very good in terms of functionality, stability and aesthetics. Zorin, as a tradition, first releases the core or GNOME distro and follows it up with "Lite" and "Educational Lite", two lightweight Zorin OS variants with LXDE desktop. Both are actually Lubuntu 13.04 spins. I, myself, am a big fan of LXDE desktop as it is possibly the most efficient of all fully featured DEs. However, LXDE requires the users to have a little bit of expertise in Linux; simple things such as autologin, adding programs to start up, setting up compositing manager, etc. are easier in other desktop environments (DEs) like XFCE, KDE & GNOME. However, of late, I saw LXDE control center in PCLinuxOS and ROSA which actually makes these things easier for the users.

From Zorin 7 Lite http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

With that prelude, I thought of checking out the LXDE "Lite" spin of Zorin OS 7. The release note states:

"The Zorin OS team is proud to release Zorin OS 7 Lite and Educational Lite, the latest evolution of the Zorin OS Lite series of operating systems, designed specifically for Windows users using old or low-powered hardware. This release is based on Lubuntu 13.04 and uses the LXDE desktop environment to provide one of the fastest and most feature-packed interfaces for low-specification machines. This new release includes newly updated software out-of-the-box, the introduction of new software and a new desktop theme. We also include our innovative Zorin Look Changer, Zorin Internet Browser Manager, Zorin OS Lite Extra Software and other programs from our earlier versions in Zorin OS 7 Lite"

I downloaded the 800 MB ISO from Zorin site. Only 32-bit ISO is available (with pae-kernel) for Zorin OS "Lite" as it is targeted to older hardware (which are mostly 32-bit machines). My mode of testing is the usual one: first a live boot followed by installation in my Asus K54C with 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor and 2 GB RAM.

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Peppermint OS Four Review: Linux Mint of Lubuntu with added Ice and Web apps!

Peppermint OS Four is one distro, possibly, I haven't paid sufficient attention till date. This week first time I made an honest effort to understand and use it for a few days continuously. I must say I am very impressed with the new Peppermint OS release - Peppermint OS Four. Earlier my impression was it is just repackaged Lubuntu. But, with continuous usage for a few days, my impression changed - it brings a lot more to the user than the parent distro Lubuntu. I guess you'll understand more what I am saying in the remaining part of the review.

From Peppermint OS 4 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

Peppermint OS Four is the latest stable release. It is based on Ubuntu (Lubuntu) 13.04 and has LXDE, a very lightweight desktop environment with Linux kernel 3.8.0-25. The release note states:

"Welcome back to the new and improved Peppermint web site and welcome to the next iteration of our operating system: Peppermint Four. We are seriously excited about this release and we hope you are as ecstatic as all of us on Team Peppermint. Make sure to download a bunch of copies and give them to friends and family; they will thank you, for sure. Peppermint Four is based on the Ubuntu 13.04 code base and uses the LXDE desktop environment, but now with Xfwm4 instead of Openbox as the window manager. Other new features in this release are that we've included some example games by default including Entanglement and First Person Tetris. We've also added some metapackages for popular tasks such as graphic arts and photography to the Featured section of the Software Manager." 

I downloaded the 32-bit Peppermint OS Four ISO, 588 MB in size, for this review. I created a live USB using Unetbootin to do a live boot followed by installation on my Asus K54C laptop with Core i3 2.2 Ghz processor & 2 GB RAM. Peppermint has a lighter ISO than Lubuntu 13.04 because of it's focus on web based applications whereas Lubuntu focuses more on offline apps.

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Ubuntu 13.04 vs Kubuntu 13.04 vs Xubuntu 13.04 vs Lubuntu 13.04 vs Ubuntu 13.04 GNOME: A brief comparison

Every Linux novice goes through this phase - confusion to decide which Ubuntu to install when now you've got so many versions of Ubuntu coming out of the stable. The aim of this article is to facilitate taking decision by briefing about what distro has to offer and a comparison of their performance.

I take up here the latest Ubuntu release 13.04, codenamed "Raring Ringtail". Released in April 2013, it comes in five distinct desktop environments

Unity in Ubuntu 13.04
It started as a net-book OS environment and gradually gained favor from Canonical. The much criticized (and rightly so because of its initial instability) desktop environment is now gradually improving in terms of performance and stability. It is kind of a minimalistic desktop with a left hand side strip, accommodating the user's favorite applications, along with a heavy integration to social networks (like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.) through its unique dash. It is still not as stable as I would like it to be but, I feel, Unity has the potential to challenge the operating system biggies like Windows and Mac OS X. It is intuitive and very easy to use but not as customizable as a KDE. Right now, its use is limited only to Ubuntu. Unity leverages the Gnome 3 ecosystem of applications with Files (forked from Nautilus) as the file manager. My review of Ubuntu 13.04.

From Ubuntu 13.04 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

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Lubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" Review: Fast, efficient and functional

Lubuntu is one of my favorite distros for it's amazing resource efficiency and functionality. It may not be the most eye-candy in the Ubuntu clan but definitely the most resource efficient. LXDE traditionally consumes lower resources than Gnome or KDE and even XFCE. And most importantly, it is customizable enough to make it look really attractive. Though the release note of Lubuntu 13.04 didn't state a whole lot of incremental improvements, still I was interested to check it out.

"Lubuntu 13.04 is now available. Features: based on the lightweight LXDE desktop environment; PCManFM, a fast and lightweight file manager using GIO/GVFS; Openbox, the fast and extensible LXDE window manager of LXDE; LightDM; Chromium, the open-source version of Google Chrome; based on Ubuntu 13.04. Improvements since Lubuntu 12.10: new version of PCManFM (1.1.0) including a built-in search utility; artwork improvements, including new wallpapers, community wallpapers, new icons; removed Catfish, since PCManFM has its own search utility; fixed a very old bug causing GNOME MPlayer to crash with some CPUs; several fixes for the GPicView image viewer."

True to the note, it doesn't come with a whole lot of innovations from Lubuntu 12.04 and 12.10. But, without any doubt, the current release is a rock solid distro offering amazing performance.

From Lubuntu 13.04 http://mylinuxexplore.blogspot.in

I downloaded the 720 MB 32-bit ISO of Lubuntu 13.04 and installed it on my Asus K54C laptop with 2 GB RAM and 2.2 Ghz Core i3 processor. Lubuntu Raring comes with LXDE DE and kernel 3.8.0-19. Looks wise, it retains the same traditional look but now comes with some refreshing Lubuntu wallpapers.

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Ultimate Edition 3.5 Review: Ugly but fully loaded!

My first exposure to Ultimate edition was with 3.4. I installed the 64-bit one to my newly bought Core i7 3rd gen. laptop with 8 GB RAM last year, but had to remove it bugged by it's instability. First the default interface is devoid of much aesthetics, Second, effects are too loud and most important, third, instability - not a single day passed with something or the other crashing in the background or my laptop suddenly stopped responding and would require a hard reset. First two issues on aesthetics and too much of effects I took care myself with 24 hours of usage but I couldn't handle the third one and replaced it with supremely stable Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon.

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

It may sound a sad tone to begin with - but, the disappointment is primarily due to my high expectation build around the distro and hope that it would really work for me. Tell me, where you get Gnome 3, Unity, Gnome 2, etc. desktop environments together in a single distro? Everyday you can use a different desktop! Plus, it is loaded with applications - it has almost the entire Ubuntu repository loaded there! 

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

With the new release note of Ultimate Edition 3.5 coming out on 3rd Jan, and that too in KDE flavor, I was really intrigued to check it out, with the expectation of more stability in the distro. UE 3.5 is about 3.5 GB, which is about 300 MB more than UE 3.4. Both are built on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. However, the upgraded version has quite a lot of added flavors like KDE 4.8, XFCE 4.8, LXDE, OpenBox, Cinnamon, in addition to Gnome 3, Unity and Gnome 2. Linux kernel is 3.2.0 as in Ubuntu 12.04.1. I downloaded the 32-bit version this time.

Testing was done for a week on my Asus K54C 2.2 Ghz Core i3 laptop with 2 GB RAM, decent specs to run any OS. I did a live boot from USB and then installed it on the same machine to use it for a week and make a fair assessment. At boot up itself, one can sense little attention to art-work, as UE 3.5 KDE started with a Lubuntu screen and an Ubuntu login window! Further, because of the GUI's dark theme along with dark fonts, visibility becomes a bit of issue in UE 3.5.


Applications
It will take me at least 2-3 posts to accurately provide you the applications in UE 3.5. Better you check a few screenshots to build an expectation. The screenshots are taken in UE with LXDE desktop, as in the default KDE menu, it is difficult to show majority of the apps. In nutshell, entire Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu - entire Ubuntu clan is present in UE 3.5 along with the Ubuntu repository. Actually there is no need to add any software center as there won't be any app left in repo! Multimedia codecs are pre-loaded and one can straight away listen to favorite music or watch movies immediately after installation or live boot.

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

Amazingly, you see Muon and Lubuntu software centers as well along with the default Ubuntu software center! Also, think of multiple file managers! Kind of over-abundance but I can live with it!

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

My only grudge here is LibreOffice is still 3.5, GIMP is 2.6 and quite a few of the other apps are also backdated. However, users can add the appropriate packages from Quantal/Nadia and upgrade the software.

Installation
Installation is typical Ubuntu and takes about 30 minutes. Steps are pretty simple and would not surprise even a newbie. Even here the installation steps have real font color problem and whatever is written, is barely visible due to white font and semi-transparent GUI. Seriously, the developers should take some help from an expert on art-work!

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

From Ultimate Edition 3.5

 
Performance
I downloaded the 32-bit OS for the test. Performance was assessed post installation and I tried all the available desktop options. Of these, Cinnamon 2D, Openbox and XDMC options didn't work for me. From the rest, LXDE was the least resource consuming option for me, followed by XFCE and Gnome classic mode. Surprisingly, KDE came out to be the most inefficient option!

Desktops	CPU	RAM
Cinnamon	1-10%	360 MB
Cinnamon 2D	-	-
Gnome	1-10%	285 MB
Gnome Classic	1-10%	286 MB
Gnome Classic (No effects)	1-10%	281 MB
Gnome/Openbox	1-10%	440 MB
KDE Plasma Workspace	1-10%	782 MB
KDE/Openbox	1-10%	774 MB
Lubuntu	1-10%	167 MB
Lubuntu netbook	1-10%	169 MB
Openbox	-	-
Ubuntu	1-10%	438 MB
Ubuntu 2D	1-10%	438 MB
XBMC	-	-
Xfce Session	1-10%	182 MB
Xubuntu Session	1-10%	182 MB
Ubuntu Studio	1-10%	185 MB

If the compare UE 3.5 desktop environments to the corresponding releases (from Ubuntu 12.04.1 and Linux Mint 13 stables), Ultimate's performances didn't deviate significantly from the parent distros (except for KDE). All the results are from installations on the same machine (which I tested at different point in time in 2012).

Competing Distro	RAM	CPU
Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon	6-10%	200 MB
Linux Mint 13 Mate	2-3%	207 MB
Kubuntu 12.04.1	2-10%	310 MB
Lubuntu 12.04	0-5%	119 MB
Ubuntu 12.04.1	5-20%	280 MB
Xubuntu 12.04.1	1-5%	160 MB

Stability
In my 10 days of usage, I found this edition of UE to be relatively more stable than the previous versions I had tested. Post initial update, I didn't have any background application crash. Except KDE, rest of the desktop environments were quite smooth to use. Specially I liked the Lubuntu version. Imagine the efficiency of LXDE with a whole lot of applications from Ubuntu/Kubuntu/Xubuntu! Cool!

Overall
Using UE 3.5, as it is, is no fun at all because of shoddy artwork and really bad looking interface. I couldn't believe KDE can look so bad till I used UE 3.5. Anyway, users can improve the artwork. I don't mind the artwork when I see what I am getting in return - a whole lot of applications to work with and possibly never requiring to open the Ubuntu Software Center! Paradoxically, UE has 3 Software Centers to offer!

From version 3.4 to 3.5, there are quite a few plus points - the developers have toned down the effects quite a bit and now it doesn't hamper with productivity. All kinds of applications are out of the box and gives you a complete experience. I agree the distro is a bit inefficient compared to a single desktop distro like a Lubuntu or Xubuntu, but anyway, UE is not supposed to be installed to a low end machine! It is and absolutely is, recommended if you have a real good system (with dual core or high end processor and minimum 2 GB RAM) in your possession. Otherwise, don't even think of trying UE - it's not for the faint hearted.

Plus, I'll recommend UE 3.5 to Linux users with some experience. For newbies, it might be a little confusing to have so many desktops, file managers, system monitors, mail clients, browsers, and a whole lot of other apps for the same function.

So, if you are looking for a new experience, different desktop every day or a whole lot of applications to play with and can live with bad art-work, UE 3.5 is a must try. You may like it! You can download UE 3.5 32-bit and 64-bit editions from here.

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Zorin OS 6.1 "Lite" Review: Lubuntu derivative which looks like Windows 2000

Zorin has been trying to fill the void for Windows 2000 and XP users who are unable to upgrade to Windows 7. It looks like Windows - however, underneath it is Ubuntu. While Ubuntu has evolved a lot in past 2 years but still it may not be as easy for a Windows users to migrate. And here comes Zorin to help!

From ZorinOS 6.1 Lite

Zorin 6.1 Lite is based on Lubuntu and I must say, it looks more attractive than Lubuntu and is easier to set up and use. It uses LXDE with Linux kernel  3.2.0 and the ISO is 672 MB. You can get the ISO from here.

I used my Asus EeePC 1101HA with 1.38 Ghz Intel Atom Processor and 1 GB RAM for this test. It already has PCLinuxOS installed and my test was primarily based on Live-boot. I won't go into the debate of how easy or difficult Linux is compared to Windows - it is for the users to decide. In addition to Windows 2000 looks, you can also make it look like a Mac with a docky. But, I would prefer a Cairo dock instead.

From ZorinOS 6.1 Lite

Application-wise, Zorin Lite is understandably thin with Chromium as the default browser, Abiword as the Word processor, Audacious is the default music player and Gnome MPlayer is for playing videos. Adobe flash support is inbuilt and youtube videos played nice in Zorin Lite. In System Tools, you get a Zorin OS Lite Extra Software option, from where you can download VLC, Gnumeric, Wine (to install Windows related software like Office 2010) among other things.

From ZorinOS 6.1 Lite

From ZorinOS 6.1 Lite

Also, through Software Repository, which is based on Ubuntu Software Center, you get the option to download access and download other critical softwares.

From ZorinOS 6.1 Lite

CPU and RAM Usage
CPU and RAM usage for Zorin is comparable to Lubuntu - 5-8% CPU and 130 MB RAM! It is definitely easy on resources and can be a preferred choice for old computers running Windows XP. I guess I won't recommend it for Windows 2000 computers with 128 MB RAM - there are better choices existing for them like Crunchbang, Puppy, etc.

Overall
In overall, you can try out Zorin OS Lite for your old computers. It is fast and responsive and can handle most of the daily chores. Of course, don't expect it to play high resolution or HD videos for you if your computer is relatively antiquated one. My desktop is relatively less antiquated and it performed reasonably well. The desktop looks more attractive than Lubuntu and can be a good alternative to it. Plus, using Zorin look changer you can get a Mac-ish feeling in Zorin with docky though it is quite rudimentary. However, if I compare it to ROSA 2012 LXDE with long term support for 5 years, I guess I would prefer ROSA because ROSA offers you more. Peppermint is also a competition to Zorin. It augurs well for the LXDE fans to have so many good options - Lubuntu, ROSA, Peppermint, and now Zorin!

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Peppermint 3 Review: A good replacement of Lubuntu

I have used Lubuntu and lets be honest, the LXDE sister of Ubuntu, is not that catchy to look at. So, if you want to have a good replacement of Lubuntu, without compromising on the performance (lower resource usage) or functionality, and at the same time looking really good, here is Peppermint Linux for you.

From Peppermint Linux 3

I downloaded the 32-bit ISO from Peppermint site. The 560 MB ISO is lighter than Lubuntu 12.04 ISO (683 MB). So, definitely a good start for Peppermint!

Boot up in virtualbox was quick and red white interface is really cool to look at.

From Peppermint Linux 3

Applications
The application set provided by default in the ISO is somewhat different from Lubuntu. Peppermint relies more on internet rather than having a physical app in the system. For example, Abiword and Gnumeric are done away with and replaced by Google docs. You can save all your documents online and can retrieve from anywhere. I really liked it. Google docs is really good and better than Abiword/Gnumeric. Still users, who prefer to have the documents in their system and/or doesn't have a high speed internet connection may not prefer this arrangement. However, you can always hit the Ubuntu repository and download LibreOffice or Abiword/Gnumeric.

Chromium is the default browser and Flash support is out of the box. Dropbox is there to share your files and you have bit torrent client as well. There is a media player and a music player, Guayadeque music player quite good - you can connect to online radio or play podcasts in addition to playing music files in your computer.

From Peppermint Linux 3

From Peppermint Linux 3

From Peppermint Linux 3

In addition to the default apps provided, you can always download more apps like VLC, Firefox, etc. from the Ubuntu Software repository. It is the same as in Lubuntu. Rest of the stuff are pretty similar to Lubuntu. Through preferences you can adjust monitor settings, screensaver, network connections, etc.

From Peppermint Linux 3

CPU and RAM Usage
It is similar to Lubuntu 12.04 in terms of RAM and CPU usage and is also on the lower side. Around 130-140 MB is the RAM usage with only task manager running, pretty perfect for all netbooks and low resource computers.

From Peppermint Linux 3

Overall
I would recommend Peppemint Linux 3 as a good substitute of Lubuntu or Xubuntu. It is comparable in performance to Lubuntu, has a smaller ISO and looks more jazzy but offering the same functionality. Also, Windows XP users may find at home with Peppermint or Lubuntu as the desktop environment is quite similar.

You can find more screenshots at my Picasa album.

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You can have Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu all in the same computer

Human nature seeks variety. Ubuntu may be the most fascinating of the 4 variants but I like Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu as well - for different reasons. However, if you have installed one, you won't be able to install other overwriting the older one. And a new installation means tons of downloads (Ubuntu first update downloads about 300-400 mb every time) and reinstallation of your favorite softwares like cheese, VLC, etc.

One way to get flavor of all your Ubuntu derivatives is simply installing the desktops of different distros (provided you have about 10 gb of HDD space).

By simply running the following command in the terminal, one can install Kubuntu:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

It will download all the unique softwares along with KDE desktop of Kubuntu.

For Ubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu run the following commands:

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop
sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop

I have installed Lubuntu 12.04 LTS and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS over my base installation of Xubuntu 12.04 LTS in my PC and Kubuntu 12.04 LTS in my netbook.

At the start I get options which interface to use and I can choose one of the three as per my mood and purpose. Lubuntu installs with Lubuntu netbook interface as well. Fun isn't it?

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Ubuntu distros: RAM & CPU usage of Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu & Lubuntu

An interesting suggestion came for comparing the RAM & CPU usage of the four Linux sisters: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, Kubuntu 12.04 LTS, Xubuntu 12.04 LTS & Lubuntu 12.04 LTS.

As mentioned in my previous post, Ubuntu seemed to be the most taxing on CPU & RAM whereas Lubuntu seemed to be the least. The same results are validated when I booted each of them from pen drive and checked the RAM & CPU usage.

Distro	Xubuntu 12.04 LTS	Ubuntu 12.04 LTS	Kubuntu 12.04 LTS	Lubuntu 12.04 LTS
CPU Usage	6%-10%	17%-18%	3%-10%	1%-11%
RAM Usage	130 MiB	340 MiB	235 MiB	126 MiB

In nutshell, Lubuntu uses least RAM and CPU. Xubuntu is very close to Lubuntu. Kubuntu lies somewhere in the middle with about 235 MiB RAM usage and Ubuntu, of course, with the effects of Unity (2D here) and other graphics, uses about 50% more RAM than Kubuntu.

Limitations: All these are without any programs running and booted from pen drive. After installation and updating, the actual RAM & CPU usage may be slightly higher.

17-May-2012:

One additional comment: Please check my review on Linux Mint 13 LTS with Gnome 2 before deciding on what distro you would like to install.

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[SOLVED] Hate Gnome/Unity? Here's how to integrate XFCE / LXDE desktops to your Ubuntu

I know many users who dislike Unity interface. I too personally prefer the classic view with a Cairo dock - Unity 3D is very heavy for my Asus EeePC 1101HA. I had installed Ubuntu 11.10 on my machine as an upgrade from 11.04, which I removed later as I never liked the Unity menu bar. I like the classic view more.

Later I tried installing Lubuntu 11.10, Kubuntu 11.10 and Xubuntu 11.10 - each time I ended up with Ubuntu 11.10! Somehow if once Ubuntu 11.10 is installed, it won't allow installing the other variants on the same machine. So, as a get around, I found the following very useful - integrating the benefits of both Ubuntu and a lightweight desktop environment like XFCE, KDE or LXDE.

To install type the following commands on your terminal (with an active internet connection - involves around 50 mb of download):

1. To install Lubuntu or LXDE desktop:
sudo apt-get install lubuntu-desktop

2. To install Kubuntu or KDE desktop:
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

3. To install Xubuntu or XFCE desktop:
sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop

All of these are derivatives of Ubuntu with a lighter desktop environment, specially good for older machines. Once you restart after installation, grub will provide you the options to log in to the desktop environment you installed. That way you don't have to remove whatever you install - Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu or Lubuntu, and enjoy the benefit that other desktop environments offer

These are snapshots of my Ubuntu desktop (classic view), LXDE desktop and Lubuntu desktop (which I installed minutes ago) on the same computer. Hope you'll like them.

Ubuntu 11.04 desktop (Classic View with Mac theme)

LXDE Desktop

Lubuntu Desktop with Cairo Dock

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