Exton Linux | Live Systems

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

DebEX Barebone 32 bit – Build 240423 – based on Debian sid/trixie (upcoming Debian 13) with LXQt 1.4 and Refracta Snapshot

April 23, 2024 exton Leave a comment

NEWS 240423 about DebEX LXQt 32 bit Build 240423
I’ve made a new DebEX system for older computers. It uses LXQt 1.4 as Desktop environment. LXQt is a lightweight Qt desktop environment. It will not get in your way. It will not hang or slow down your system. It is focused on being a classic desktop with a modern look and feel. Only a minimum of packages are installed. The ISO file is of only 1610 MB! Refracta Snapshot is pre-installed also in this version of DebEX, which means that you can make your own Debian 32 bit (Intel x86 32-bit architecture) live installable system in a very simple way. I mean change everything to your liking and then create a new ISO.

What is it for?
This version of DebEX is mainly made for older computers. I could run and install DebEX LXQt without problems on my oldest computer. An Acer Aspire 5102WLMi from the year 2006. So now you too can bring back life to your (very) old computer!

Study all installed packages in Build 240423…

NOTES
NOTE1: This version of DebEX is based on Debian sid/trixie. Trixie (Debian 13) will replace Bookworm (Debian 12).
NOTE2: VirtualBox Guest Additions are pre-installed, which means that you can run DebEX LXQt in full screen in VirtualBox. Watch this screenshot…
NOTE3: You can’t watch Netflix in this version of DebEX: That’s because Google no longer support Widevine on 32 bit systems.
NOTE4: I’ve arranged so that you can run DebEX LXQt also on UEFI computers. I.e. you can boot the System both in UEFI and Legacy mode.

SCREENSHOTS
1. Running in full screen in VirtualBox
2. Refracta Snapshot is running
3. The new ISO is ready
4. The Desktop for the ordinary user user

exton, Exton Linux distributions, Raspberry Pi systems

RaspEX Rpi5 64 bit based on upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS “Noble Numbat” with LXQt 1.4, kernel 6.5.0-1005-raspi and Firefox with DRM support :: Build 240221

February 21, 2024 exton Leave a comment

NEWS 240221 about RaspEX with LXQt based on upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Noble Numbat.
RaspEX Build 240221 is a Linux ARM (64 bit) system for Raspberry Pi 5 with 4GB/8GB and Raspberry Pi 4 with 2GB/4GB/8GB RAM. It is based on Debian and upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. Firefox Browser with DRM (Digital Rights Management) support is pre-installed. Study all installed packages in RaspEX Build 240221.

REPLACEMENT
This RaspEX Build replaces RaspEX Build 220228, which was a 32 bit System using LXDE (instead of LXQt).

ABOUT Snaps
I have removed all snaps and snapd (The snap daemon) altogether from RaspEX following the advice’s here. The main reason for that was that the RaspEX image became too big with snaps installed.

RASPBERRY Pi 5 and 4
RaspEX Kodi is made especially for the new Raspberry Pi 5 released October 23, 2023 (4GB and 8GB), but can also be used on a Raspberry Pi 4.
NOTE: A Raspberry Pi 5 is about twice as fast as the Raspberry Pi 4.

More about RaspEX
RaspEX is a full Linux Desktop system with LXQt (which is the product of the merge between LXDE-Qt, an initial Qt flavour of LXDE, and Razor-qt, a project aiming to develop a Qt based desktop environment with similar objectives as the current LXQt) with many other useful programs pre-installed. Firefox is used as Web Browser and Synaptic as Package Manager. You can use Synaptic to install any extra packages you may need. For example LibreOffice. RaspEX uses Ubuntu’s software repositories so you can install thousands of extra packages if you want.

Kernel
Kernel 6.5.0-1005-raspi for Raspberry Pi 5 and 4.

SCREENSHOTS
Screenshot 1 – raspex’s Desktop 240221
Screenshot 2 – running raspi-config
Screenshot 3 – running Netflix in Firefox
Screenshot 4 – RaspEX running Spotify Web Player

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

exGENT (Gentoo) 64bit Live DVD/USB with LXQt 1.4, Calamares Installer and kernel 6.1.67-gentoo-x86_64 – Build 240121 – can be installed to hard drive in 3 min!

January 21, 2024 exton Leave a comment

NEWS 240121 about exGENT (Gentoo) 64 bit

REPLACEMENT
This version (240121) replaces version 230121 (Systemd) and version 230109 (OpenRC).

What’s new in exGENT Build 240121?
The boot loader Grub Legacy has been replaced by Grub2. In exGENT versions before 170309 the file system wasn’t writable when running exGENT live (from DVD). Now you can emerge (install) new programs/packages even while running the system from a DVD or USB stick. If you do that and later decide to install exGENT to hard drive all your changes will follow! (That is if you use the install scripts in /root/install). Furthermore you can install/transfer exGENT to a USB stick with the dd command in Linux or use Rufus or Etcher in Windows. Such installations were impossible before. NOTE: I have not installed Google Chrome. It’s not needed anymore, since Netflix nowadays runs very well in Firefox. About the LXQt Desktop environment: LXQt is a lightweight Qt desktop environment. It will not get in your way. It will not hang or slow down your system. It is focused on being a classic desktop with a modern look and feel. MOST IMPORTANT: Now you can install exGENT to hard drive in two ways. You can still use the install scrips in /root/install. That is the best way to install exGENT on non UEFI computers for example VirtualBox and VMware. The second way is to use Calamares Installer.

exGENT Build 240121 is a non Systemd system
exGENT uses OpenRC 0.53 init system instead of Systemd. Comparison of different init systems: Read this article.

UPGRADE exGENT
As you can see it is exactly one year since the previous version of exGENT was released. That’s because everything with Gentoo is extremely time consuming. Installing Gentoo the “Gentoo way” can take several days to perform.

INSTALL A NEW KERNEL
After a hard drive installation of exGENT you may want to install a newer kernel than 6.1.67. That can very easy be done with the command sudo emerge –ask gentoo-kernel-bin. As of 240121 you will get kernel 6.6.12. Since it is a binary “allround” kernel the installation takes only a couple of minutes. Watch this screenshot…

Who is exGENT/Gentoo for?
Experienced Linux users or those who really want to learn Linux. (Perhaps also for people who are bored with mainstream distributions like Ubuntu).

Screenshots
1. exGENT Build 240121 – gentoo’s Desktop
2. exGENT Build 240121 – root’s Desktop
3. Running Calamares in VMware
4. exGENT running in VirtualBox
5. Using the install scripts in VMware

ArchEX 2024 (Arch Linux) Live with KDE Plasma 5.27.10, LXQt 1.4, kernel 6.6.9-ARCH and Calamares Installer 3.3.1 :: Build 240106

January 6, 2024 exton Leave a comment

ABOUT ArchEX 2024 Build 240106
I’ve made a new extra version of ArchEX with KDE Plasma 5.27.10. Plasma is made to stay out of the way as it helps you get things done. But under its light and intuitive surface, it’s a powerhouse. So you’re free to choose ways of usage right as you need them and when you need them. LXQt 1.4 can also be used as Desktop Environment (DE). This ArchEX version uses kernel 6.6.9-ARCH. ArchEX can very easy be installed to hard drive (if you want) with Calamares Installer version 3.3.1 (latest). Installed (by me) from source.

Study all installed packages in ArchEX 2024 with KDE Plasma 5.27.10 and LXQt 1.4.

Rolling distribution
Arch Linux/ArchEX are rolling distributions, which implies that once you have installed the system on the hard drive there is no need for re-installations (which otherwise is common in the Linux world).

WHO should run Arch Linux?
My answer: The system fits the “advanced” Linux user/enthusiast, who would be willing to run an occasional command from time to time.

BENEFITS of ArchEX/Arch Linux
“Cutting Edge”-software and speed. You will for example always run the latest kernel if you upgrade ArchEX/Arch (for example) every month.

Screenshots
ArchEX Plasma Desktop for root
ArchEX Plasma Desktop for user
ArchEX LXQt Desktop for user
ArchEX LXQt Desktop for root
ArchEX running in VirtualBox with Guest Additions installed

Read about my Android-x86 Systems – 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow, Lollipop and KitKat at
andex.exton.net – latest is AndEX 11 (with GAPPS), AndEX 10 (with GAPPS) and AndEX Pie 9.0 (also with GAPPS)!
and
about my Android 13, 12, 11, 10, Pie, Oreo, Nougat, Marshmallow and Lollipop versions for Raspberry Pi 4 and 3/2 at
raspex.exton.se – latest is RaspAnd 13 and 12 (without GAPPS), RaspAnd 11 (with GAPPS) and RaspAnd Oreo 8.1 (also with GAPPS)!

ExTiX 23.11 – based on upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 LTS – with LXQt 1.4, Calamares Installer (new), Refracta Snapshot and kernel 6.6.1-amd64-exton :: Build 231123

November 23, 2023 exton Leave a comment

ExTiX 23.11 LXQt – Build 231123
I have made a new version of ExTiX – The Ultimate Linux System. I call it ExTiX 23.11 LXQt Live System. (The previous LXQt version was 23.5-2 from 230530). ExTiX 23.11 is based on upcoming Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat)! Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Long Time Support) will be supported until June 2029. The best thing with ExTiX 23.11 is that while running the system live (from DVD/USB) or from hard drive you can use Refracta Snapshot (pre-installed) to create your own live installable Ubuntu system. So easy that a ten year child can do it! One other very good thing with this version of ExTiX is that it is quite light. The ISO file is of only 2050 MB, which means that you can run the system super fast from RAM. When the boot process is ready you can eject the DVD or USB stick. Use Boot alternative 3 or Advanced options… >> load to RAM. Another big new thing in this version of ExTiX is that I have installed Calamares Installer. Calamares is an installer framework. By design it is very customizable, in order to satisfy a wide variety of needs and use cases. Calamares aims to be easy, usable & beautiful while remaining independent of any particular Linux distribution. Nevertheless I’ve kept Refracta Installer. Use the Installer you prefer.

Study all pre-installed packages in ExTiX 23.11…

THE IMPORTANCE OF ExTiX 23.11 BEING BASED ON AN UNSTABLE VERSION OF Ubuntu
Programs won’t crash or anything like that. And I’ve not discovered any “bugs”. That said you should of course be a bit careful. This version of ExTiX is for people who like “cutting-edge” software. And if you install the system to hard drive you will eventually be among the first people to run the stable version of Ubuntu 24.04!

SCREENSHOTS
1. ExTiX LXQt – root’s Desktop
2. ExTiX LXQt – user’s Desktop
3. ExTiX 23.11 running in full screen in VirtualBox
4. ExTiX LXQt Calamares Installer is ready