10-24-2016, 12:57 AM
It's been nearly a year since I first tried out linux, and a short while later tried linux lite 2.8 and liked it quite well. So well that not too long after I installed it on 2 computers, an older workhorse (Core2Quad, 8gig ram, GT 730 GPU) converted into a media PC, and a business grade laptop (HP elitebook 8440p, i5, 4gig ram).
At the time of this writing, I'm setting up LL 2.8 on 2 more computers, thinkcenter sff desktops (m72e i5 3.10ghz, 8gig ram and an m81 pentium G620 2.6ghz , 4gig ram). Bottom line: I like LL 2.8, and it has become my go-to installation for an OS. So far it has been 99.999% bulletproof OS for a small office\home office machine, for a 2D graphics work machine, for a media pc, and for a Steam on linux machine.
The few issues that IMO still needs ironing seems to stem from ubuntu itself or xfce, not really from Linux Lite itself. And most of those issues to me are not major function types, but small quality of life type issues. Things like screen tearing that AFAIK stems from xfce, which thankfully I found a fix with compton thanks to the LL forum, but in terms of "ready to go out of the box" something like that xfce screen tearing is not very noob friendly. And I'm saying that as someone who prefers xfce as my first choice for a desktop environment and distros that uses xfce.
On a laptop, some of the small quality of life issues (afaik stems from ubuntu) iirc are or were the battery indicator not displaying properly until it enters and exits suspend mode, having to fix a brightness setting memory (sysvinit backlight iirc). Again not necessarily show stopping but those things do make an impression for a potential new linux user especially if they are coming from primarily Windows based. But to say it again, aside from those quality of life issues, LL 2.8 IMO in general is good to go, period.
On to LL 3.0, I have tried it out for a few weeks now and I have it ready on a DVD install disk. Right now however, 2.8 is still what I use, I'll explain why. First off what IMO LL 3.0 got it bang on and on the right track:
-Better Hidpi options support. Likely not noticeable for most regular desktop usage, but becomes important for a media pc usage, with UI scaling, legibility and usability. Two big thumbs up on LL 3.0 bringing the improvement and options on this!
-Lite Software looks better with the icons versus just text. While I was never that uncomfortable going with text terminal installation, Lite Software is just easier to use for new people or people who just want to get things to work and go.
-Major function wise, my experience with it so far is smooth and no hiccup. I'm not sure if ubuntu fixed it on their end but personally I have yet to experience any problems with wifi connection setups I've heard other people had encountered.
On to the points on why I am on 2.8 for now, until 3.0\ubuntu 16.04\xfce addresses it.
-Screen tearing. It might not be a huge deal for some people but it's just too annoying for me, and becomes a deal breaker when using it for a media machine. I tried the enabling compositor and synchronize vertical blank fix, it was a no-go. Installing compton fixed the screen tearing, but seems to mess up the update process somehow. As soon as I find a fix for this, 3.0 is going on my main personal machine.
-Not a deal breaker but I do miss the convenience of Lite Control Center, I can probably just put "system information" and "resource usage" on the taskbar or panel, but personally I like the idea of a one button convenience display. Without beating a dead horse it's unfortunate things do not work out and I guess sometimes it's just best to move on. If the LL team are planning something to replace it, I'll just say this, it might be useful to have a convenience button that displays:
-whether a system is up to date, update now (y/n)
-a basic system spec such as OS ver, kernel version, cpu, RAM total and usage, storage total and usage.
-Linux Lite help manual, and Linux Lite website link .
TL;DR: LL 2.8 is still awesome, and as soon as I find a fix for that screen tearing, LL 3.0 will be installed on my main machine. Linux Lite is what convinced me that Linux is getting ever closer to be "Year of the Linux Desktop". To the Linux Lite team, I say this sincerely. Please continue to keep doing what you're doing, you are doing great work and a much needed one.