Linux Lite 6.2 RC1 Released

[Valtam]

Release Announcement

Linux Lite 6.2 RC1 is now available for testing.

This release is mostly comprised of UI adjustments and bug fixes. I really like this release, we have managed to improve upon 6.0 to really give it some polish. There are some details below, but all of the changes will be in the Release Announcement.

See below for details.

Linux Lite 6.2 Final will be released on 1st November, 2022.



Changes:

Lite Upgrade

Many re-writes to this application, just in time for the 6.2 release. A new end dialogue is included and we've integrated the newest, stable LibreOffice into the up-grader.









Updated Icons

The latest Papirus icon set has been included.



Shotcut replaces Openshot in Lite Software

We researched a replacement for Openshot since it has been broken in Jammy for a long time now, we didn't want people to be left without a feature rich, simple to use video editor.










Other Changes:

- Fixed dialogue lengths of many Linux Lite applications
- Fixed hostname bug in Lite Tweaks
- The Hardware Database now has over 75,000 submissions. 100k here we come! https://www.linuxliteos.com/hardware.php
- Fixed bug in Lite Sources not populating the codename
- Purging even more logs in Lite Tweaks, freeing up space
- Latest stable versions of Chrome, LibreOffice, Lite applications etc
- New wallpapers
- Task Manager (System Monitoring Center) right click now works everywhere, updated icon
- Microsoft Teams removed from Lite Software, no longer maintained by Microsoft, instead, they will offer a PWA version only for Linux. Ref. https://www.omglinux.com/the-official-mi...g-retired/
- Fixed Kernel Removal in Lite Tweaks
- Fixed application to handle directories, Catfish opening instead of Thunar in some instances
- Fixed ‘apt-key’ Deprecation warning on Ubuntu
- Minor additions to Lite Patch to deal with potential Update errors

Plus many other tweaks and changes.

Window Theme: Materia
Icon Theme: Papirus
Font: Roboto Regular

Thunderbird:

There seems to be a bit of interest in the new Thunderbird versions 100.x and higher. As such, I'm going to leave a quick how to if you no longer want to wait for the official version from the Ubuntu repositories. Disclaimer: You run this at your own risk, it has not been released through Ubuntu yet and therefore is not supported. If it fubars your system, Google is your friend. Impatience, can backfire.

Code:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa

Code:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

How do I know if my Windows PC has UEFI?

In Windows Search, type msinfo or msinfo32 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.

Secure Boot is supported, but unless you know exactly how to handle it, it is a P.I.T.A. at best so I am going to say...you must disable Secure Boot to enable stress free computing.

Some helpful snippets from the latest Help Manual:





UEFI Support link - https://www.linuxliteos.com/forums/uefi-secure-boot/

Details:

Kernel: 5.15.0-48 ( custom kernels also available via our Repository for versions 3.13 - 5.19 )
Chrome: 105.0
Thunderbird: 91.11.0
LibreOffice: 7.3.6.2
VLC: 3.0.16
Gimp: 2.10.30
Base: 22.04.1

Known Issues:

Eject Media prompt is only available at the end of the UEFI install.
Desktop icons - English support only.
Dropbox: if you get an error, run the set up twice.
There is NO Grub Edit in Lite Tweaks in this Series for Linux Lite due to an unsolvable issue. Ubuntu will show in the Grub menu if you are dual or more booting. Try Grub Customizer if it annoys you.
Grub menu shows Linux Lite as 'Ubuntu'. See below for more on this.

- Open /etc/default/grub as Administrator.
- Comment out: GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian` and leave GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR='Linux Lite' uncommented.
- Should look like:
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR='Linux Lite'
#GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
- sudo update-grub

Grub - press the ESC key whilst booting in UEFI mode after your BIOS has posted. Use the SHIFT key if running Linux Lite in Legacy mode.

Help Manual will be updated in the Final.

OEM Install option - is broken and crashes near the end of the install. If a fix can't be found, it will be excluded from each release until a solution if found.

You tell me.


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

Downloads:

HTTPS:

Download 64bit from here - Linux Lite 6.2 RC1 64bit
MD5SUM: e9625cdf9008a518335e1e7be0fee3ac
SHA256: 4880f17af5b193cdf5480b95722c465af6ca80e6289c968ebb534ec7adc66846
Size: 2.2Gb (DVD, USB)

Checking the MD5SUM and SHA256 of the Linux Lite ISO:

MD5SUM
Open a Terminal on Linux Lite and do:

Code:

md5sum linux-lite-6.2-rc1-64bit.iso

SHA256
Open a Terminal on Linux Lite and do:

Code:

sha256sum linux-lite-6.2-rc1-64bit.iso

TORRENT: (Fastest way to download the RC)

64bit Torrent from here - linux-lite-6.2-rc1-64bit.iso.torrent
Hash: b9a635da5c3b682ba56dccdf839a2b4b63cb6d3f
Size: 2.2Gb (DVD, USB)

Live USB/DVD/VirtualBox/Vmware:

Login is automatic, no credentials are required. The image can be written to a 4gb or larger USB stick, or a writable DVD. Alternatively, you can use the dd command: sudo dd if=linux-lite-6.2-rc1-64bit.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.

A good, simple point and click USB ISO burner is https://www.balena.io/etcher/ or https://rufus.ie/
In our testing, Etcher and Rufus (for Windows only) have proven to be the most reliable. Etcher is available for Mac, Windows & Linux.

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.

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


Thank you

Jerry and the team.

[Şerban S.]

Release Announcement
[...] Linux Lite 6.2 RC1 is now available for testing. [...]
Shotcut replaces Openshot in Lite Software

We researched a replacement for Openshot since it has been broken in Jammy for a long time now, we didn't want people to be left without a feature rich, simple to use video editor. [...]

1. Thanks for the RC! !!!
2. OpenShot malfunctioning.
First of all, the available version through the official releases channel is very old (2.4.3). Might work bad since many things have changed since the previous Linux Lite versions.
I use the OpenShot 2.6.1-dev version and it works fine. I make all my video courses using OpenShot, for 2 1/2 years already and except for some glithces that can be avoided using the AppImage version, everything is OK.
The AppImage version I use when something goes sideways, is 2.6.1. If this breakes too, I use "OpenShot-v2.4.3-x86_64.AppImage". It is far less comfortable to use than the current one (OpenShot-v2.6.1-x86_64-19-02-2022.AppImage), but it works. I've been using it on Linux Lite 5.x, then tested it under LL 6.0.

Here is the PPA I use:

Code:

https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/openshot.developers/libopenshot-daily/ubuntu/

Shotcut replaces Openshot in Lite Software
I tested Shotcut more than once. I remember the dissapointment: on a 10 minutes video, I got an audio track shortened with 20 seconds. This means unusable. Period.
Has also trouble importing clips, playing them, let alone editing and rendering the final project. I remember it crashing about 6 times repeatedly.
I need a reliable video editor. Testing various alternatives, might be fun; but when it comes to finish a real rask, I stick to OpenShot.

I know this sounds like advertising so here is a different idea (approach):
Replace the source for OpenShot with the dev version's source AND add Shotcut too.

I say this because learning a complex application from scratch, takes a lot of time. I'm using OpenShot for 10 years now. Nobody can expect to move from a complex application to another, just in "two clicks"... It's painful and frustrating and you feel "back to square one"...

I'll do my best to retest it. Maybe things have changed though.
I also checked the Repository and it is available through Synaptic. Maybe two minor versions behind the download page, but... still!

...Quick-test:
Joining two video files, worked good. Fast export. Has also an option for parallel computing and hardware encoding. Looks it has evolved since my last tests.
The interface is a little more complicated than I like, but... So far, so good!

Second test:
14:10" vdeo project, 720p, mp4 export took 03:28" to export. Minimum editing (Transitions, clip trimming, clip joining). Pretty good! I used hardware acceleration and parallel processing (4 cores, 8 threads). Compression, looks also good: 609.5 MB. Openshot gets an output of some 1.2... 1.6 GB, depending on the video duration (12... 20 mins).
Testing the animation capabilities, takes a long time though. For the actual purpose, I think it's a fair choice. Migrating from OpenShot, might take a few days, two weeks, tops.
The interface is a little more complex that in OpenShot. Gets closer to KDEnlive.

Best regards!

[Artim]

My "review" of LL 6.2 RC1 is posted here. Kind of a non-technical look at my own experience of it so far.

[Valtam]

My "review" of LL 6.2 RC1 is posted here. Kind of a non-technical look at my own experience of it so far.

Cheers The Taskbar issue is known and previously mentioned. I contacted the head of XFCE some time ago about it. So far, no response.

Sent from my Mobile phone using Tapatalk

[Byk Fernando]

All application in Little Software will be updated to new version stable version, or just Chrome and Libre Office?

[Valtam]

All application in Little Software will be updated to new version stable version, or just Chrome and Libre Office?

Version numbers are in the release announcement.

[Artim]

Yessir, the panel was resolved by simply rebooting, and it's hardly unique to Linux Lite, as you said. My only suggestion would be to link Firefox (and anything else that would be installed by snapd) to a command string that installs a PPA to fetch and install, instead of using snapd at all. Everything else has come out golden for me. It's still "Xubuntu done right."

[Valtam]

Snap <- PPA's damned if you do, damned if you don't. The individual has plenty of information from me (Lite Software warning, release announcement) to make their own decision. Cheers

[vint]

Howdy folks,
I would like to know if with the new version ( 6.2 ) if anything is being improved for acquiring drivers for printers that are missing in Linux.  I've been having a driver issue since I downloaded LL back in February 2022.  Many printers are supported but mine is not, Canon has the driver and I downloaded it but was only able to get the scanner to work.  Also, Libre Office in 5.8 never seems to update.  I understand it is a custom download but the version is 6.4.7.2, is it ever going to be updated or will I have to go to the 6.0 series to get current updates?  Thanks for considering my question.

Best regards,

[Artim]

Snap <- PPA's damned if you do, damned if you don't. The individual has plenty of information from me (Lite Software warning, release announcement) to make their own decision. Cheers

You're right, of course. I guess for me, PPAs are the lesser of two evils.

You have to make some hard choices as the main developer, and then put up with criticism from a technophobe who knows very little about developing an OS. I know I have been a bit of a hypocrite with my criticisms, I know, first "damning" PPAs and now advocating for their use over snaps.

But I hope some of my observations and opinions are still helpful somehow.