Linux Lite 4.8 Final Released

[Valtam]

Release Announcement

Linux Lite 4.8 Final is now available for download and installation.

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all Windows 7 people who have come here to find a simple, fast and free alternative to Windows 7 which has reached its end of life and no longer provides security updates. Linux Lite makes the transition to a linux based operating system by offering a full, Microsoft compatible Office suite, familiar software like Firefox, Chrome, Teamviewer, VLC as well as full system back up tools, a comprehensive - easy to follow Help Manual to guide you on your journey, Steam so you can keep playing your Windows games and so much more familiar software. Our Desktop is laid out just like it is in Windows with a Start Menu to the left and a tray to the right with Volume, Network and Calendar options, with familiar Desktop icons that take you exactly where you want to go on your system.



This release has been moved forward from the usual date of February 1st 2020, to coincide with the end of life for Windows 7.


Changes:

Welcome Windows 7 people!

We want to provide you with a familiar home. What you can expect from Linux Lite:

- A Desktop, taskbar and tray that have a familiar layout.
- You get a fully featured FREE Microsoft compatible Office Suite in the form of LibreOffice.
- The option to run familiar software such as Steam, DropBox, Kodi, OBS Studio, Skype, Spotify, Teamviewer all from within our Lite Software application.
- A Welcome screen that greets you at first boot and makes setting up your Linux Lite install a breeze. Just click and go.
- A Hardware Database containing over 30,000 existing pc configurations that is searchable. Will my hardware run Linux Lite? Look here - https://www.linuxliteos.com/hardware.php
- A friendly, welcoming Support Forum that will always do it's best to find you answers.
- A massive, searchable built-in and online Help Manual that covers all aspects of setting up, troubleshooting and working with Linux Lite.
- A bundled powerful image editor Gimp that many refer to as a Photoshop competitor FREE in Linux Lite.
- Familiar Desktop icons that get you quickly to where you want to go.
- And so much more.

Windows 7 Customized Wallpaper: In the build-up to this announcement, a hint was given as to how we would look out-of-the-box to people coming across from Windows. People are greeted internationally with Welcome in dozens of languages. There are 2 critical elements in the wallpaper that I want people to look for that specifically pertain to Microsoft and Windows 7. Post your guess in this thread. All those who guess correctly will go into a draw to win some Linux Lite swag. Competition will run for 2 weeks and will be announced here in this thread.

VirtualBox Support: Out-of-the-box VirtualBox support for YouTube/Online Journalist reviewers and testers has been withdrawn. This was done to remove one more potential boot-up slow down from the list of variables. And there were cases where this has been a PITA for many users. If you are reviewing or testing, install Linux Lite to the VM then do:

Code:

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-x11

after a fresh install. You will then have the full experience that VirtualBox provides. I'm sorry, but the majority of users came first in this specific case. This will be the norm going forward into Series 5.x and beyond.



Going forward: Series 5.x will run the XFCE Desktop Environment and will inherit all permanent features from previous Series. UEFI & SecureBoot is a serious consideration, but nothing is final on that topic at this stage.

Screenshots:

Welcome



Office



Desktop



Help Manual




Details:

Browser: Firefox: 71.0 Quantum
Email: Thunderbird: 68.2.2
Office Suite: LibreOffice: 6.0.7.3
Media Player: VLC: 3.0.8
Image Editor: Gimp: 2.10.14
System Backup: Timeshift 19.08.1

Kernel: 4.15.0-74 (custom kernels also available via our Repository for versions 3.13 - 5.4)
Base: 18.04.3

Known Issues:

None as yet.


Upgrading

> Menu, Favorites, Install Updates (you must reboot if asked to, otherwise continue to the next step)
> Set a Restore Point - Menu, System, Timeshift
> Menu, Settings, Lite Upgrade
> Reboot

Having problems upgrading? First thing to do is open a terminal, and make sure you have the latest version of Lite Upgrade.

Code:

apt policy lite-upgrade-series4

should return:

Code:

  Installed: 4.0-0050-linuxlite
  Candidate: 4.0-0050-linuxlite

If you've ran Install Updates and still don't have this version or greater you can either - wait 24 hours, or change to the default Linux Lite repository in Lite Sources.

Lite Upgrade - What it will do:

- New Lite Help Manual
- New Lite Upgrade
- New Lite Welcome
- New Wallpaper

Lite Upgrade - What it won't do:

- Nothing to list.

There is no upgrade path to or from Beta or RC releases.
There is no upgrade path from Series 2 or 3 ( 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 2.8 | 3.0, 3.2, 3.4, 3.6, 3.8 ) to Series 4.

LINUX LITE VIDEO - OVERVIEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUnK8Mwg3K4

LINUX LITE VIDEO - INSTALLATION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c93Wjj3fOHo

INSTALLATION GUIDE:

https://www.linuxliteos.com/manual/install.html

DOWNLOADS:

How do I know which download to choose, LEGACY or UEFI/Secureboot:?

In Windows Search, type msinfo and launch the desktop app named System Information. Look for the BIOS Mode item, and if the value for it is UEFI, then you have the UEFI firmware. If it says BIOS Mode Legacy, then that’s the firmware you’re running. Also, in general, UEFI-enabled machines have faster startup and shutdown times as compared to BIOS-Legacy machines. If you bought the computer/motherboard after 2010, chances are you have a UEFI system. If you are still unsure, download the UEFI version as it will also detect and run on a BIOS-Legacy computer.



LEGACY (DEFAULT):

Download 64bit from here - Linux Lite 4.8 64bit
md5sum: 3c9b8e5a2341fdee7882642d98ad6266
Size: 1.4Gb (DVD, USB)

UEFI/Secureboot:

Download 64bit from here - Linux Lite 4.2 64bit
md5sum: 9355c9fd685eb0d4a30310f43cf82304
Size: 1.4Gb (DVD, USB)

Download then upgrade easily to Linux Lite 4.8
Ensure UEFI is enabled and preferably Secureboot should be disabled in your BIOS. Even though Secureboot is 'supported' it is still a pain to work with. For smooth sailing, disable it.

LEGACY TORRENT: (Fastest way to download the Final)

64bit Torrent from here - linux-lite-4.8-64bit.iso.torrent
Hash: 45e6734304c0fd767c72801363b312689cda0f2c
Size: 1.4Gb (DVD, USB)

International Mirrors (city specific) - https://www.linuxliteos.com/mirrors.php (wait for page to load, some mirrors may still be syncing with us)

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-4.8-64bit.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.

BURN THE ISO:

A good, simple point and click USB ISO burner for Mac, Linux & Windows 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.


Thank you all for your support throughout Series 4.x Can't wait to build another exciting, free operating system for you this year in the form of Series 5.x !

Jerry and the team.

[DeepThought]

Upgraded from 4.6 to 4.8 using Lite-Upgrade without any problems.
Upgrade was done within a few minutes and all is looking good

[TMG1961]

Upgraded without a problem.

[Moltke]

First of all, congratulations! Will try sometime this week since I'm still running 3.8.

There are 2 critical elements in the wallpaper that I want people to look for that specifically pertain to Microsoft and Windows 7. Post your guess in this thread. All those who guess correctly will go into a draw to win some Linux Lite swag. Competition will run for 2 weeks and will be announced here in this thread.

Hmmm... shining effect and the white lines? Don't know whether they're just one or two things but windows' 7 wallpaper looks just the same. If they're one thing toguether then it's the shining effect and the white lines + background color, other than that I don't see anything else pertaining W7. where's my swag? lol

[Artim]

Congratulations on this release.  Making Linux look like Windows is anathema to me, as I want my desktop to be as different from Windows as possible!  But Linux Lite is definitely my choice for newbies coming from Windows to Linux for the first time. And it's so easy to make any changes I want to the Xfce desktop, I can have it looking as "Linuxy" as I like in a few mouse clicks.  I hope the Win7 end-of-life will bring many more users to Linux Lite.  Well done!

[firenice03]

Nice easy upgrade as always!!

[bonnevie]

Well played, very well played, sir! 

[Sauri Extras]

Upgrade done smoothly.

Thanks a lot Jerry. The update feels more smoother and faster than before. A commendable job on the update!  ;D

[Nyto]

Thank you, Jerry and team, for a seamless, painless, fast, straightforward upgrade.
I went through the "Menu - Settings - Lite Upgrade" route and voila!


Now, regarding the "two critical elements in the wallpaper perttaining to Windows", well, it is based on the wallpaper of the venerable Windows 7 Starter Edition AND on the wallpaper from thew Windows 7 Home Basic Edition, and the Windoze logo was replaced by the LL "feather" logo.

[firenice03]

Another updated -- EASY!!!

I would agree the LL "Welcome" wallpaper is a Win7 throwback - *Nice touch...

As for the 2nd ---
All the color feather wallpapers... are a represention of the MS colors/logo ... Almost to a T - LOL