Ubuntu Derivatives News: Trisquel, elementary OS, Ubuntu Studio, Linux Mint, Peppermint, Bodhi, and Lubuntu
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2014-04-08 08:36:18 UTC
- Modified: 2014-04-08 08:36:18 UTC
Trisquel
The developers take pride in the fact that Trisquel is a completely free operating system and it will remain free forever. The Linux distribution also doesn't integrate any applications that are not completely free.
elementary OS
Ubuntu Studio
Mint
The biggest challenge for Windows XP users switching to Linux Mint is having to change the programs you've known and used for years. Fortunately, some programs are available on both Linux and Windows. In addition, there are Linux programs that duplicate the functionality of your favorite Windows programs.
Some Windows XP users might be considering Linux MInt as a replacement operating system. But just replacing the operating system isn't enough, you'll also need Linux applications that will replace the ones you used in Windows. ZDNet has a roundup of Linux Mint applications that might fill the void when making your move from Windows XP to Linux Mint.
It's been a while since I've done a review. In fact, it's been a while since I've posted in any form, because this semester has turned out to be a lot busier than I anticipated. It likely will remain so until it ends; the only reason why I can post a review right now is because of spring break, and even that has been busy for me. Anyway, I initially wanted to do a review of Frugalware because it looked intriguing, but I couldn't get the live USB to work. I'm reviewing this (which I had planned for later) instead. If you've passed by this blog, you've probably already seen my thoughts on Linux Mint, so I'll skip the introduction. I tried this updated ISO file as a live USB made with MultiSystem. Follow the jump to see what it's like. There isn't too much that has changed since last year, so I will simply link the review from then, point out any changes, and put out any other thoughts that occur to me about this.
Linux Mint is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, but that wasn't always the case. Now, the creator of Linux Mint has just announced Linux Mint 17 “Qiana,” which will be released almost a couple of months after Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr) is made available.
The MintBox 2 is a small form factor, fanless PC designed to run quietly at low power.
The machine features a die-cast, solid metal case which acts as a passive heatsink and cools down components without needing any fans. While the case design adds to the weight it reduces noise, with the only sound coming from the internal 500GB SATA hard drive.
Clement Lefebvre, the creator of the Linux Mint distribution, has just announced that the next version of the Mint operating system will be called “Qiana” and it should be available by the end of May 2014.
Linux Mint is one of the most popular Linux distributions out there and it's only superseded by Ubuntu. Actually, Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu and makes use of its repositories, but that may not happen for very long anymore.
Peppermint
This time however I have been lucky enough to get not just one member of the team but two. I recently sent an email to the Peppermint Linux team with a series of questions and what follows are the answers provided by Shane Remington (COO of Peppermint) and Kendall Weaver (CTO of Peppermint).
When I’m introducing someone to Linux, I don’t believe the “all or nothing” approach works, so if you are new to Linux and would like to see the benefits it can offer you, download and burn onto disk the latest version of Peppermint and follow these steps.
As you may or may not know, I have recently acquired a HP Chromebook and my first article about the Chromebook looked at whether it was possible to run another operating system alongside ChromeOS.
Today I am taking a look at Peppermint 4. Peppermint 4 is designed as a hybrid operating system aimed at cloud computing and also average ordinary everyday home use.
I last reviewed Peppermint Linux in August 2012 (Peppermint 3) and my overall impression then was positive. In this review I will review Peppermint Linux from scratch and I will also look at what has changed since version 3 to show how Peppermint has moved on.
Open source makes a lot of sense in rural areas and in third world countries. Lightweight and open source systems that are easy to use, and which allow normal users to become power users and contribute back to the open source community, can be ideal for countries like Cameroon, located in middle Africa.
As the program has grown over the past years, the cost of licensing for the video editing software has grown as well, beyond the operating budget of the organization. Faced with this challenge, PAGE turned to open source technology. Elizabeth McIntosh, a member of the Steering Committee for PAGE, led the charge. "I'd heard about the open source movement through my friendship with Brendan Szulik at Duke, and thought it might be able to help us." PAGE participants historically used Final Cut Pro to document and edit their digital stories, but this year will use open source alternatives Kdenlive and Blender. Both offer a good user experience, without the heavy scale-up costs associated with non open-source solutions. The ability to rapidly learn the technology and to use it as the program continues to grow are the largest benefits.
Bodhi
One of the things I am working on for our Bodhi 3.0.0 release this summer is a simple GUI system update tool written in Elementary and the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries. Today I would like to share an early version of this tool I am calling eepDater (pronounced epp-date-er), which is written in python utilizing the EFLs.
-
As promised I've put together our first Bodhi Linux disc that is built on top of the upcoming Ubuntu 14.04 release. Keep in mind this is a very early image not intended for production machines. There will be issues.
Lubuntu
Lubuntu is based on LXDE, a very light desktop environment that probably has even lower hardware requirements than Windows XP. It's a favorite for older systems and it's the lightest distro in the Ubuntu family.
Cleide Isabel! She managed to grab the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place with her photos: 'Vista Do Fitz Roy', 'Vale', 'Arvore', 'Daisie' and 'Copan02'.
Lubuntu 14.04 LTS Beta 2 (Trusty Tahr) has been officially released and it has joined its brethren from the Ubuntu family, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Ubuntu GNOME.
Recent Techrights' Posts
- Microsoft Trots Out Its Propaganda Agent Preston Gralla to Make It Sound Like Microsoft Breaks Up With China (Reality: Microsoft Got Dumped by China)
- This discredits any publisher that plays along
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 161 Out of 200: Low Standards in Defamation Cases Just Muddy the Waters and Distract From Legitimate Cases
- The judge at the trial said that Garrett's case was a waste of the court's money
- Congrats to Linux.org for Adopting or Getting Back to IRC
- This is the way the Net ought to work and was originally designed to work [...] IRC as a protocol turns 38 this month
-
- Links 25/08/2026: Microsoft Salaries Leaked Again, "Oasis Photograph Sparks Copyright Lawsuit"
- Links for the day
- GNU/Linux Did Not Start in 1991 and America Wasn't Discovered by Europeans
- it'll be 43 next month
- Rolling Out Some Changes Soon
- To the regular reader no change will be seen
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 24, 2026
- IRC logs for Monday, August 24, 2026
- Gemini Links 25/08/2026: Separated by Plexiglass, Low-Tech Information Networks, Jörg Rippel Comes to Geminispace
- Links for the day
- The Tragedy of Software Developers Making Up Narratives and Making Excuses for Plagiarism (of Their Own Work, Too)
- one lingering issue is that many who vote in Debian GRs receive money from slop companies
- Evri Makes Us Optimistic About the Collapse of the Slop Pyramid Scheme (Bubble)
- Do not be seduced by false promises of "automation" or "intelligence" where only automation may exist but no intelligence at all
- Links 24/08/2026: "Journalism Can Help Expose Bad Science And Trigger Real-World Change"; Further Suppression and Censorship in China/HK
- Links for the day
- Gemini Links 24/08/2026: Soul Mentality, Words to Live by, Mozz.us Gemlog Resumes, Smol Conversations
- Links for the day
- Today The Register MS Published Greenwashing Spam for the Slop Pyramid Scheme, It Mentions "AI" 29 Times
- More people need to talk about the role of the media in this pyramid scheme
- Slop Plagiarism and Chatbots Are Killing Evri (They Infuriate and Insult Clients)
- Slop destroys companies and leads to misery (miserable clients, time-wasting)
- Links 24/08/2026: Re-defining the IndieWeb and "Data Center Backlash Bursts Into the Midterms"
- Links for the day
- The Issue With Omarchy is the Slop, the Politics Are a Side Issue
- Those corporations do not oppose slop, they participate in it
- In South Korea, Steady Increases for GNU/Linux
- authorities said they would migrate to GNU/Linux or consider moving in that direction
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 160 Out of 200: In Astounding Repetition of Last Year, Brett Wilson LLP Deliberately Ignores Holidays of People It is Attacking and Crushes Principles of Access to Justice
- Disconnected from the law
- Links 24/08/2026: Vision and Skill, Doing Good, Chiperia Project
- Links for the day
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 23, 2026
- IRC logs for Sunday, August 23, 2026
- Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Turning 60, PineTime, and Simulation Hypothesis
- Links for the day
- Will Your "Modern" New Car Still be on the Road in 2060?
- Are people now expected to change a car as often as they replace a mobile phone and, if so, how fast would costs add up?
- The Sniff Test
- Be sceptical of "CoCs"
- Cloudflare Sees a Quarter of Requests in China Coming From GNU/Linux Today
- Will 23% ever be the average for GNU/Linux rather than a mere peak?
- You Can Lose Some Battles and Still Win the War
- Winning or losing isn't something for a scoreboard
- GNU/Linux Usage Measured at 23% in Russia Today
- the average was almost 10%
- Things Not to Fear Missing Out on
- Life is too short to pay attention to social control media
- Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Exercising Again, Tackling Phone Addiction, and Putting Graal Online Back Online
- Links for the day
- Northern Africa: GNU/Linux Measured at Around 5%
- by Clownflare
- PIPs and Lawsuits: On the Future of IBM Trying to Spit Out Its Own Staff at Minimal Cost
- "I'd rather be laid off than be put on a PIP"
- France: GNU/Linux Averaging at 7%, Peaked at 14% Today
- When will 14% be the average?
- Links 23/08/2026: Water Crises, Illegal Tariffs, and Carney Confronts US Over Patent Imperialism
- Links for the day
- Links 23/08/2026: Slop "Children's Stories Contain Bizarre Patterns" and "Butterflies at the One Garden"
- Links for the day
- SLAPP Censorship - Part 159 Out of 200: Telling Courts False Information and Spoon-feeding Them Insults, Hoping or Expecting Them to Repeat These Insults
- When lawyers trick courts into repeating something false
- Microsoft is in Double Trouble in Singapore
- Android+GNU/Linux+ChromeOS are near 20%
- The Slop Industry Bribed the Media to Pretend It Has Something New and Revolutionary. Now It Bribes Politicians Too. Anything to Avoid Scrutiny and Regulation.
- borrowed money has long been used to bribe the media
- "AGI" is Decades Old and It Never Found a Viable Business Model or Real, Actually Useful Use Cases
- I keep reminding people of local firms (right here in Manchester) doing the same thing the media now calls "AGI"...
- Over at Tux Machines...
- GNU/Linux news for the past day
- IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 22, 2026
- IRC logs for Saturday, August 22, 2026
- Microsoft to Its Workers in April-May: You're Too Old, Go Away. Microsoft in August: Young People, Go Away.
- What does this company even sell anymore?
- Clownflare Data US-Centric
- We are assuming that for national security reasons not many sites in Chinese (or based in China) outsource their traffic to Clownflare
- Gemini Links 22/08/2026: Broken Car, Devuan, and Thundermail
- Links for the day