The latest version of the lightweight operating system now available

May 16, 2008 10:02 GMT  ·  By

AntiX 7.2 (codename "Vet?vendosje"), an update to AntiX 7.0, was announced by MEPIS a couple of days ago. The distro is built around the MEPIS 2.6.22 Linux kernel and utilities, with some additions from Debian Lenny, and was specially created for older computers and for those of you who want a very fast operating system.

It comes with three desktop environments, all of them lightweight: Fluxbox, IceWM and ROX Desktop. Speaking of lightweight, you also get the Conky system monitor, which will display system information right on your desktop (it sports a large number of system stats, like memory, disk and CPU usage, network monitoring, uptime and more). Most of the features in this update are based on community contributions, such as customized menus for improved usability, a detailed FAQ for new users (which should be definitely your first stop after you install AntiX), fresh artwork and scripts for easy configuration of user and system files.

This Linux distribution was created with old computers in mind. If you own a "grand-father" with an Intel Pentium II processor or AMD equivalent (but not K5 or K6 CPUs), and 64 MB of RAM, then AntiX is for you. It even seems to work on systems with only 32 MB of RAM, but after installation (the LiveCD won't work).

AntiX is remastered from MEPIS, with the name alluding to the idea that it was created for "antiques" (older computers) and it should be fun, just like antiques also are. Besides, "Anti" is the nickname of AntiX's creator, which is another reason for the name. Although it is created for older hardware, you can use it on a powerful computer too, so you can do a lot more tasks at the same time, and with a smaller memory footprint.

Download AntiX 7.2 right now from Softpedia.

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