This is one of the few OSes based on Slackware

Nov 5, 2014 10:38 GMT  ·  By

Salix Live, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware that is simple, fast, easy to use, and based on the Xfce desktop environment, has been promoted to version 14.1 and is now stable.

The Live version of Salix has been in the works for quite some time and the developers have made a lot of changes and improvements since the previous release in the series. In fact, the Live editions for the Salix flavors have been largely ignored in the past couple of years, but that is changing with this release.

Salix is one of the few Linux distributions still maintained that is using Slackware as the base. Many of the older, similar distros have gone away completely and others have changed their base. The Linux ecosystem is all about diversity, so it's a good thing that some developers are still trying to keep the Slackware dream alive.

Salix Live is light as a feather

The operating system uses Xfce as the base, which means that it's pretty light. Even when running from a USB key, the distro feels very fast and responsive. It packs a lot of default applications and most users will find that it comes with pretty much all they need to run it.

"After a lot of trying to get them work with newer releases, we decided that we should switch to a better, easier to use system. This is based on the Slackware Live Scripts, which is also what powers other Slackware-based live systems as well. The scripts were tweaked and adjusted to meet our requirements and the fruit of this work is available here, including a new installer and persistence options."

"This release is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures, while the 64-bit iso supports booting on UEFI systems. SecureBoot is however not supported. The software included in this release mirrors that present in a standard Salix Xfce 14.1 release as closely as possible," say the developers in the official announcement.

The software collection features mostly well-known apps. For example, Midori is the default internet browser and Claws Mail is the default email client. Users will also find that Pidgin, GIMP, Geany, Parole, and Exaile are present as well.

You can download Salix Live Xfce 14.1 right now from Softpedia. It runs very well in VirtualBox, but if you want to install it on your PC, you need to run it from a USB key.

Salix Live 14.1 (5 Images)

Salix 14.1 Live Xfce desktop
Salix 14.1 Live Xfce launcherSalix 14.1 Live Xfce file manager
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