MX Linux 21 vs Linux Lite 6.0: My thougts so far

[Ralph Bromley]

So recently I replaced MX Linux 21 with Linux Lite on my aging 2013 era laptop and I have some thoughts I wish to share.
Note this is not really "what one is better" thread as both Linux flavors have their pros and cons but still I think comparing the two is more than fair as both have the same goal in mind: being overall user-friendly for Linux newcomers and lightweight for older machines.
With that in mind here are my thoughts on Linux lite so far:

The Good:
Overall, I feel Linux lite is a bit faster and smoother than MX linux 21 on this machine, I have had some snares on MX Linux 21 making it feel a bit sluggish and unresponsive.
I installed both on a SSD with BTRFS as the main file system with ext4 for my /home partition on a hard drive with swap alongside it (I have a caddy that converted a DVD drive into a hard drive bay)
Now it's not faster by much but on this ol gal I will take every advantage I can, the fact that it runs so well means Linux Lite is likely to stay for the long haul or at least until the next version of MX.

The Bad:
The update indicator sucks in Linux lite, It's always there and never goes away.
Plus the indicator does nothing, why can't I install updates via the indicator? After getting used to getting updates via the indicator icon, this feels so archaic and out of place.
Plus it doesn't hide itself, I used so many flavors of Linux that change the icon of the update notifier, so I know what to expect... but here?
Nope.
I used MX, Mint, even arch using pamac notifications, this indicator is next to useless.

The Ugly:
The way I have to install Firefox, honestly I know why Linux lite ditched Firefox thanks to it now being a snap, but it's in a PPA now, I think Linux lite should enable the PPA by default in the next revision.
I know this was beyond Linux lite's control but still it annoys the crap out of me, I hope there is a better way to do it in the future without so much hoop jumping.

Anyhow, with that said Linux lite so far seems to be a good distro for this machine, I am still having a few issues but will bring those up later when I have the time.
My goal was to evaluate first, then do problem-solving later.

[Valtam]

The Bad:
The update indicator sucks in Linux lite, It's always there and never goes away.
Plus the indicator does nothing, why can't I install updates via the indicator? After getting used to getting updates via the indicator icon, this feels so archaic and out of place.
Plus it doesn't hide itself, I used so many flavors of Linux that change the icon of the update notifier, so I know what to expect... but here?
Nope.
I used MX, Mint, even arch using pamac notifications, this indicator is next to useless.

...why can't I install updates via the indicator? - Because if the text is greyed out, there are no updates to install. If you want to request additional features, contact the developer here - https://screenshots.debian.net/package/p...-indicator

The Ugly:
The way I have to install Firefox, honestly I know why Linux lite ditched Firefox thanks to it now being a snap, but it's in a PPA now, I think Linux lite should enable the PPA by default in the next revision.
I know this was beyond Linux lite's control but still it annoys the crap out of me, I hope there is a better way to do it in the future without so much hoop jumping.

Anyhow, with that said Linux lite so far seems to be a good distro for this machine, I am still having a few issues but will bring those up later when I have the time.
My goal was to evaluate first, then do problem-solving later.

Browsers are subjective. Our target audience are Windows users. I expected to cop some flack from existing linux users but it doesn't bother me. I did go to the trouble of giving extensive details in the release announcement on ways to install Firefox. They're just as guilty of dubious practices as Google is, especially in the last few years. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. We'll remained focused on our target audience.

Thanks for the feedback.

[stevef]

The Bad:
The update indicator sucks in Linux lite, It's always there and never goes away.
Plus the indicator does nothing, why can't I install updates via the indicator? After getting used to getting updates via the indicator icon, this feels so archaic and out of place.
Plus it doesn't hide itself, I used so many flavors of Linux that change the icon of the update notifier, so I know what to expect... but here?
Nope.
I used MX, Mint, even arch using pamac notifications, this indicator is next to useless.

This is possibly down to the icon set in use.  By using an icon set with multiple icons for software-update status, the LL Package Update Indicator in the system tray can indicate (at least) three different states.

Normal no updates pending
Routine update pending - in black
Urgent update pending - in red

So far, I haven't been able to work out how the package-update-indicator application specifies which icon to display, but in my experience, it can and does indicate when updates are available and some degree of the the relative importance of the update.

[Valtam]

The Bad:
The update indicator sucks in Linux lite, It's always there and never goes away.
Plus the indicator does nothing, why can't I install updates via the indicator? After getting used to getting updates via the indicator icon, this feels so archaic and out of place.
Plus it doesn't hide itself, I used so many flavors of Linux that change the icon of the update notifier, so I know what to expect... but here?
Nope.
I used MX, Mint, even arch using pamac notifications, this indicator is next to useless.

This is possibly down to the icon set in use.  By using an icon set with multiple icons for software-update status, the LL Package Update Indicator in the system tray can indicate (at least) three different states.

Normal no updates pending
Routine update pending - in black
Urgent update pending - in red

So far, I haven't been able to work out how the package-update-indicator application specifies which icon to display, but in my experience, it can and does indicate when updates are available and some degree of the the relative importance of the update.

If I get time I might fork it and modify it to be color coded in terms of status. Just have to watch the number of pkgs I'm maintaining.