Linux Lite 4.0 Beta Released

[Valtam]

Release Announcement

Linux Lite 4.0 Beta, Codename Diamond is now available for testing.

Linux Lite 4.0 Final will be released on June 1st, 2018.

This Beta marks the beginning of Series 4.x Codename Diamond.

The main changes in Linux Lite Series 4.x include a new icon and system theme, Timeshift for system backups, Shotwell to manage and perform basic edits on images, MenuLibre to manage menu entries, new Lite applications including Lite Desktop that manages common icons on the Desktop, Lite Sounds to manage system wide sounds, and many of our existing applications have been updated.

See below for all the changes:

- Minimum recommended specs have been raised slightly to more realistic levels (RAM, CPU).
- There are no more 32bit ISO releases. If you still require a 32bit OS due to hardware limitations, Series 3.x is supported through to April 2021.
- XFCE Pulseaudio plugin, has been added to the system tray for highly customizable options regarding volume management.
- Wallpaper. This is not the default wallpaper for Linux Lite 4.0 Final. Traditionally, our first Beta release in a Series features our codename image. In this Series case, Codename Diamond.
- Full disk encryption now replaces home encryption in the installer (an Ubuntu implementation).
- The new boot splash also shows you the password field in GUI for encrypted partitions.
- Ubuntu no longer offers an opportunity to set a swap partition. A swap file is now automatically created for you which is a maximum of 2gb or 5% of free disk space (an Ubuntu implementation).
- Compositing is now enabled out-of-the-box.

New Theme (Adapta) and Icon (Papirus) sets.

Faenza icons were dropped as it had not been maintained in some time (albeit there is a fork) and the same for the Arc theme, development seems to have stalled there. Most of our approach to theming in Series 4.x follows the popular Flat design focus. We also now use the Openzone mouse theme.





Memory usage after first install



Help Manual

Has been majorly updated. All content and images have been updated. This was a massive undertaking (nearly 3 weeks of continuous full time work), so please take advantage of our easy to follow guide.



Lite Sounds

For the first time in Linux Lite we now have working system sounds. Head to Menu, Settings, Lite Sounds and configure sounds the way you want. By default, the start up and log out sounds are enabled by default, the rest of the system sounds are disabled by default. To enable system wide sounds, simply click on the Enable System Sounds button at the top. There is still some work to do here, but this is a great start.



Timeshift

Timeshift replaces Systemback for system backups. If you intent to use Timeshift you should have at least a 125gb HDD/SSD or larger storage device to accommodate up to 5 snapshots. Systemback is not supported in the 18.04 base. An external storage device is highly recommended, but not essential. In lieu of an external storage device, a separate partition at least 125gb plus is recommended so you need to think carefully how you will partition during Series 4.x installations.



Linux Lite branded applications



Are now easy to find under Menu, Settings and under System in the Settings Manager. They are distinguishable by their unique design and black background. A huge thank you to [member=5059]whateverthing[/member] for his designs here. He also responsible for creating our new Lite feather logo and Diamond (and Final) wallpapers for this release.

New Terminals

We've replaced LXTerminal with XFCE Terminal thanks to your feedback. We've added Powerline to the prompt, and put in some basic system information at the top of the terminal for both the user and Administrator modes.



MenuLibre

Menu management has been improved with the introduction of MenuLibre. Now, when sub-menu applications appear not to be in alphabetical order, resorting is just a click of a button in our heavily customized XFCE menu. You can find it in Menu, Settings, Menu Editor. To sort a sub menu, expand the sub menu tree, click on the first application then click on the sort button (see image below).



Grub:




Boot Splash:



Performance Tips:

- For start up (boot time) - if you have no plans to run VirtualBox, and you want faster boots, you can remove it's supported additions:

Code:

sudo apt purge virtualbox*
sudo systemctl stop vboxadd.service
sudo systemctl stop vboxadd-service.service
sudo systemctl disable vboxadd.service
sudo systemctl disable vboxadd-service.service

Menu, Settings, Session and Startup, Application Autostart. Untick vboxclient.

VirtualBox support is included and has always been because this is how many people review an OS before they install it. Having the right support - clipboard, drag & drop, network, graphics etc gives a significantly better impression of an OS's function.

- Setting a static IP address (see the Help Manual) will improve boot times, it's something I've always used myself. Instead of waiting for your router to assign you an IP, the OS already has it set. One less thing for the start up procedure to spend time probing for.


Details:

Kernel: 4.15.0-19.20 (custom kernels also available via our Repository for versions 3.13 - 4.16)
Firefox: 59.0.2 Quantum
Thunderbird: 52.7.0
LibreOffice: 6.0.3.2
VLC: 3.0.1
Gimp: 2.10.0
Base: 18.04

Known Issues:

- Lite Software - Wine, there was no 'bionic' repository at the time of the Beta build. One will assume that this will be ready come Final time. FIXED 29/04/18 - Install Updates please.
- Online Help Manual will be updated in the Final.

There is no upgrade to or from Beta releases. Beta releases are for testing only and it is not recommended to run them as your main or secondary operating system.

Downloads:

HTTP:

Download 64bit from here - Linux Lite 4.0 Beta 64bit
md5sum: a9e571b6986fb8c8413d40f8cc13aa21
Size: 1.3Gb (DVD, USB)

TORRENTS: (Fastest way to download the Beta)

64bit Torrent from here - linux-lite-4.0-beta-64bit.iso.torrent
Hash: d86eb503c26267e543ee6b9e34cea2a532089711
Size: 1.3Gb (DVD, USB)

Live USB/DVD/VirtualBox/Vmware:

Login is automatic, no credentials are required. The image can be written to a 2gb or larger USB stick, or a writable DVD. Alternatively, you can use the dd command: sudo dd if=linux-lite-4.0-beta-64bit.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=4M where 'x' is the letter of your usb stick. In linux to find out the letter of your usb stick, open a terminal and type: df -h It is usually listed as 'media' or similar. Please see the built in Help Manual if you require a more detailed explanation of this procedure.

Yumi, Multiboot and other multi-boot applications are not supported. A good, simple point and click USB ISO burner is https://etcher.io/
If the screen locks during Live mode, type linux into the user box and click on the Login button (no password required)

Minimum Recommended Specs:
1Ghz processor
768mb ram
8gb HDD/SD
VGA screen capable of 1024x768 resolution
DVD drive or USB port for the ISO image

Preferred Specs:
1.5GHz processor+
1024mb ram+
20gb HDD/SSD+
VGA, DVI or HDMI screen capable of 1366x768 resolution+
DVD drive or USB port for the ISO image

Login to the live desktop is automatic.

The first thing you MUST do after a fresh install of Linux Lite is run Menu, Favorites, Install Updates.

In summary, what is Linux Lite Series 4.x?



As this is a beta release, there are bound to be bugs etc. Please help make the final stable for other people by participating in this Beta. Please report any bugs and feedback in this thread.


Thank you

Jerry and the team.

[Scott(0)]

  Exciting. Downloading now, will play tomorrow. Big thanks to Jerry.

~Scott

[TMG1961]

Downloading and having a look later. First need to go and read upon timeshift, no idea on how that works

[TMG1961]

In lieu of an external storage device, a separate partition at least 125gb plus is recommended so you need to think carefully how you will partition during Series 4.x installations.

Does that mean that i can't use timeshift with an external storage device if my internal ssd is less then 125GB?

[Valtam]

[member=3473]TMG1961[/member] there are 5 snapshots by default (unless you change this). Remember, it's a recommendation, not an absolute. This total free space (125gb) allows for people who sometimes store large files in their /home and who aren't familiar with partitioning. A typical install takes around 4gb fresh. 5 x 4gb, 20gb - that's without any additional , personal files. This recommendation somewhat future-proofs any additional files being added (lg and sml) over time. So, you could get away with 20 - 40gb of space allocated for Timeshift, but, it's not recommended. The recommendation is in place to get people to think about dividing up hard drive space, having everything right from the beginning. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A good boy scout is always prepared

[TMG1961]

My internal SSD is only 120GB, I just created a snapshot and its 19.8GB. Havent got a working external drive at the moment. Going to have to do some good thinking on how to partition the internal drive when installing 4.0 and going to look for a new affordable external drive.

[Valtam]

  Exciting. Downloading now, will play tomorrow. Big thanks to Jerry.

~Scott

Cheers [member=47]Scott[/member]

[Jocklad]

Just got the Beta installed to HDD and my Internet went offline. (Service Fault)


Only have a slow shared wifi at the moment.  > > > > >

[Valtam]

Bugger!

[Jocklad]

Linux Lite 4.0 beta clean install.


LL 4.0 beta ISO downloaded and installed to live usb through Etcher....No issues.


Booted from live usb for install to 1tb external hdd  (Dell Optiplex 780)


System installed to hdd .....No errors.


Updating: Updates downloaded and installed....No errors


Language Support: Default was UK as per initial setup...No change required.


Keyboard: Ibus default was US......UK added and set.


Synaptic: Server changed to UK.....no errors.


Lite Sources set to England/UK....No errors


Lite Software installed......No errors.


Google Chrome downloaded and installed through Gdebi....No errors


Bluetooth: A2DP worked out of the box.....No issues.


Lite Widget: Set in Application Autostart.........Activated on reboot.


Timeshift: Snapshot created.....No errors


No problems with this install at all so far.


Thanks to Jerry and the Team