MX-14 - Just great

[sunrat]

I just installed MX-14 on my EeePC900 and it is extremely impressive. Everything works out of the box, is very easy to install and I love the configuration of the Xfce desktop. It is also surprisingly responsive for a 6 year old 900 MHz processor. Based on Debian stable and developed by the same crew behind AntiX and Mepis. I wanted to install siduction LXQt on it but currently it's only available in 64 bit.

MX-14 is a keeper for sure!

Find out more about MX-14 "Symbiosis" and just try it. You'll be glad you did! Sunrat seal of approval.

 

[ichase]

May have to give this a test drive in VM. Looks great Sunrat

[Hedon James]

I have an MX-14 installation on a VM that I enjoy tinkering with. (I fiinally figured out MX-14 is a collaboration with Mepis and AntiX for version 14 of AntiX...up from 13.2...hence MX-14; clever, but woulda been cooler if it was more obvious, or at least more obvious to me!)

 

I was drawn to MX-14 due to its Unity-like appearance, but with an XFCE desktop. I'm not a fan of XFCE, but I don't dislike it either. I'm just not a fan of XFCE aesthetics in its default config, although I like MX-14's unique take on a Unity interface and selection of apps that I'm not too familiar with, such as Thunar (file manager) and Clementine (music player), etc... And I also like the idea of a Debian base, even though I'm in the Ubuntu camp; it's similar enough to be usable, but different enough to learn new things! I like MX-14, but it isn't quite right for me, although I did get some great ideas from it!!!

 

FWIW, I like having lightweight options that mimic "heavier" systems, but if I'm going lightweight, I'm going down to LXDE/OpenBox. LXDE is definitely lighter weight than XFCE and in my personal OPINION, LXDE is the perfect sweet spot of light resource usage without sacrificing usability. I wonder why MX-14 went with XFCE instead of LXDE/OpenBox route; AntiX is Fluxbox and/or IceWM, I believe; is Mepis XFCE-based?

 

I don't want to hijack your thread sunrat, but I think you'd enjoy an Lubuntu re-mix I'm working on (LXDE/OpenBox) that mimics the Unity interface, but with cross-platform software that I enjoy and typically use on my production machine. I'm a HUGE fan of cross-platform software that runs on Windows/Mac/Linux with similar feature sets, even if it's "heavier" than alternatives. Software such as Firefox, Thunderbird, DropBox, NixNote (Evernote clone for Linux), Banshee, VLC, Handbrake, Serviio, VirtualBox, TeamViewer, Draftsight (CAD software), etc... IMO, the CPU/GPU cycles are SUPPOSED to go to the software and computing, not the GUI DE that it runs on. So MY idea of the holy-grail of a linux machine is the full-featured software that I prefer, running on the lightest-resource desktop environment that doesn't sacrifice usability, and looking like Unity (for MY preferences) but with the ability to morph into something else for someone else's preferences (LXLE does this very well!). And THIS is my backup plan if Ubuntu takes a turn that I don't like or agree with; and it may become my primary plan if I get it into the state I want it to be. I like the idea of ONE OS to be installed on all devices (my own, as well as family/friends/migrators who ask for tech help!), and that OS must be lightweight for resource-constrained machines (I've left the lightweight apps on the base, for just such a purpose), but will simply BLAZE on newer hardware.

 

I've been working on this in spare moments for awhile now, and it's nearly finished <fingers crossed>. If you're interested, I'll let you give it a whirl in a VM when it's a little closer, although I can certainly post a screenshot in the meantime...

 

http://imgur.com/vxkdjiZ

 

I'll start another thread, as I don't want to hijack the MX-14 thread, if it isn't already too late!

Edited June 16, 2014 by Hedon James

[sunrat]

I had LXDE on my EeePC before installing MX. It is indeed light and usable, but MX seems to be just easier and more functional without being excessively more demanding on resources.

And I'm afraid Ubuntu took turns I didn't like years ago. It always includes way more stuff than I need, takes more resources than a similar Debian setup, and just wouldn't even install for me for several releases. Not to mention "lens". I know you can disable it but it is ideologically unsound. I am a dedicated KDE user anyway, and Kubuntu is less appealing than siduction.

You know you can put KDE panel on the side to make it "Unity-like" too.

[saturnian]

I don't see having a left-side panel as mimicking Unity, or as being Unity-like in appearance. To me, it's just a better use of space for a wide monitor like what my laptops/notebooks have. Other than the placement of that panel, Xfce in MX-14 really has very little in common with Unity. I use left-side panels in other distros where I use Xfce, and I also do so in KDE and in Openbox.

 

I have not been able to warm up to LXDE; each time I've had it installed here, I ended up using Openbox instead.

 

I don't have MX-14 installed here, but I've run it in live sessions, and I have it on a flash drive with home persistence enabled. I do like what I've seen of it. I haven't found a reason to install it, though -- partly because I already run Debian Wheezy Xfce. MX-14 would give me a few newer packages and some apps that weren't included with Wheezy. For my purposes, I think that one (MX-14 or Wheezy Xfce) is as good as the other; I'd be just as happy with MX-14 as I am with Wheezy Xfce. The antiX and Mepis folks have really done a good job with it.

[sunrat]

I don't see having a left-side panel as mimicking Unity, or as being Unity-like in appearance.

Me neither. But then my main experience with Unity is I saw a picture of it once.

 

I haven't found a reason to install it, though -- partly because I already run Debian Wheezy Xfce. MX-14 would give me a few newer packages and some apps that weren't included with Wheezy. For my purposes, I think that one (MX-14 or Wheezy Xfce) is as good as the other; I'd be just as happy with MX-14 as I am with Wheezy Xfce. The antiX and Mepis folks have really done a good job with it.

True, Debian Xfce would be fine. There are some differences though - MX has a few of their own utilities such as a gui metapackage installer, and includes codecs, firmware and Flash OOTB. I was just impressed that all I did was install it and use it. No tweaking, drivers, firmware or extra software needed.

[saturnian]

Me neither. But then my main experience with Unity is I saw a picture of it once.

 

LOL!

 

There are some differences though - MX has a few of their own utilities such as a gui metapackage installer, and includes codecs, firmware and Flash OOTB. I was just impressed that all I did was install it and use it. No tweaking, drivers, firmware or extra software needed.

 

Yeah, this is a key point -- Debian doesn't come all set up for the user like MX-14 does. And MX-14 comes with a bunch of useful utilities.

 

Because of those things, along with the ability to set up persistence, I'm keeping MX-14 around on a flash drive. In the past, Mepis was my preferred choice for live sessions, but now it's MX-14. Great to have in the "toolbox." I think it includes everything I usually want for live sessions -- web browser (QupZilla, but it's good enough), file manager (Thunar gets the job done), text editor, GParted, rsync, etc. Heck, they even throw in inxi -- very cool!

 

Another thing I used to love Mepis for was for testing out Linux, and for doing a quick, easy installation, on any used computer that would fall my way. The most recent time that situation came up here, I went with CrunchBang, and that worked out great for me. I'm pretty sure that MX-14 would be excellent for that as well.

 

By the way, MX-14.1 is now available for download: http://www.mepiscommunity.org/node/67

 

Which reminds me: 32-bit only, which may disappoint some people.

[saturnian]

Those who are interested in using MX-14 for live sessions might want to see this thread: MX-14.1 auto-frugal and auto-persist features

[Hedon James]

I don't see having a left-side panel as mimicking Unity, or as being Unity-like in appearance. To me, it's just a better use of space for a wide monitor like what my laptops/notebooks have. Other than the placement of that panel, Xfce in MX-14 really has very little in common with Unity. I use left-side panels in other distros where I use Xfce, and I also do so in KDE and in Openbox.

 

I have not been able to warm up to LXDE; each time I've had it installed here, I ended up using Openbox instead.

 

When I say "mimic" Unity, I'm referring to aesthetics, not behavior. I wholeheartedly agree the left-side launcher is a better use of space for wide monitors...when I first saw that concept I thought "this is a GREAT idea...why doesn't everyone do it?!" So for that reason, I give credit to Unity, as it was my first experience with the left-side launcher. I've since learned that you can do this with just about any desktop, which is kinda cool, since it is definitely my preferred layout.

 

And LXDE vs XFCE is certainly a preference thing too, depending on one's perspective of the appropriate mix of resource usage vs. usabiity. XFCE is generally considered to be lightweight and that is the most common reason I hear cited for using it. I just figured if I'm going to use a lightweight DE, I'm using the lightest of the lightweight that I can find. I explored Fluxbox, IceWM, Openbox, JWM(?), RatPoison, ScrotWM (who named this one and what were they thinking?!) and some others I can't remember, but they were just too spartan for my tastes. When I found LXDE, I felt it was the minimum DE I could use and still get things done. I'm sure I could also be productive with XFCE, but if I can be productive with LXDE, I've accomplished the same thing with less CPU/GPU cycles. I'm pretty close to being satisfied with my current project, but if I just can't bridge the last few minor "gaps", XFCE is another option that I would absolutely consider...and I'm indifferent to Debian vs Ubuntu considerations; they both use DEBs and apt. If I end up tinkering with a Debian-based re-mix, then MX-14 would be an ideal starting point for the tweakage!

[Cluttermagnet]

I love to try new Linux flavors form time to time. I'm going to download this one 'soon'. I'm running a live DVD session of LM 17 Mate right now on some 'new' (to me) hardware. BTW is this a live CD disk? One of you guys must know. Always want to try before blindly installing.

 

On their download page I see that I probably need the non-PAE version for older hardware. Nearly everything I've got here is 'older'. Anyway I ran the test in Terminal they suggest, and got:

mint@mint ~ $ inxi
CPU~Single core Intel Pentium 4 CPU (-HT-) clocked at 3042.465 Mhz
Kernel~3.13.0-24-generic i686 Up~1:48 Mem~502.1/2015.9MB HDD
~35.1GB(-) Procs~151 Client~Shell inxi~1.8.4
mint@mint ~ $ mint@mint ~ $ inxi

I don't see anything about PAE...

Edited July 3, 2014 by Cluttermagnet

[saturnian]

BTW is this a live CD disk?

 

Yes, you can run it live. That's the only way I've used MX-14 so far; I haven't installed it. One of the goals of this project has been to keep the .iso CD-sized, and I think it weighs in at just under 700 MB.

[zlim]

I can't bring myself to remove the old installed version of linux on my 701 eepc so I try live versions.

I've been running lubuntu for about a month but I've always had a strong liking for Mepis so this is worth a look. I'll clear off a stick and kick the tires. Thanks.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later and I'm here on MX-14 running live on my 701 from a 4GB stick with persistence. I'm trying to figure out if the panel only has 2 locations: left and top. I'm old school and like the panel at the bottom.

After I make sure my wireless connects, the next thing i do is redecorate. Typical woman bring out the cans of paint and get new draps and carpeting.

Edited July 3, 2014 by zlim

[lucky9]

antiX and MX14 are two different operating systems. antiX 13.2 is the current release with antiX 14 Alpha 1 will become the next Gold release (anitX 14).

 

MX14 is a collaboration of Mepis Users and Packaging Team/devs with the antiX devs. MX14 is 32-bit only with both pae and non-pae kernels available. It's sized to fit on a CD.

 

antiX13.2 is available in 32-bit i386 and x64 versions.

 

antiX 13.1 is available (i386 and x64) in several versions from core-libre, core, base, and full. Full is the full-featured IceWM-based system. The core systems are for those who want almost total control of what in installed. The base system has a working DE. All are still available.

 

MX14 was announced on Distrowatch as an antiX respin due to the particular rules the site has. However MX14 is not based on any released antiX code. As noted antiX 14 is in Alpha form at the moment.

Edited July 8, 2014 by lucky9

[abarbarian]

antiX Linux Doesn't Fool Around (2015)

 

 

 

I started playing around with antiX when looking for something different to keep some older computers out of the trash heap. antiX is a fast, lightweight distro that is easy to install. It is based on Debian Testing for Intel-AMD x86 compatible systems. It uses Flushbox and IceWN for the desktop environment.

 

It worked well but was not as current as I preferred. Its last release was nearly one year ago. This year's version is still being developed.

I discovered a variant of antiX that was only several months old and is updated monthly. MX-14 Symbiosis is a special Xfce edition of antiX made in collaboration with the Mepis community. Version 14.4 was released on March 24 of this year.

Symbiosis breaks from tradition in the way the developers handle ISO releases of the current version. They pump out monthly updates/upgrades in both PAE and Non-PAE (physical address extension) ISOs created from the original release using MX Snapshot. You can download the most current monthly ISO of MX-14 here.

They include all upgrades since the original release. This makes it unnecessary to download a large number of files after creating a new installation. They also enable users to run Live with the most recent version of the programs.

 

I have a fond spot for anti-X as it saved my bacon once.Sadly I do not have the time to play with it at the moment.