14 DAY TRIAL // Lubuntu Linux maintainer Simon Quigley is informing us today about an interesting aspect of the Lubuntu Next 17.10 edition based on the LXQt desktop environment, namely the default set of applications that are shipped by default.
The LXQt-based Lubuntu Next edition will see its first release ever this fall as part of the Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark) operating system, and the standard, official Lubuntu 17.10 flavor, which will still use the traditional LXDE desktop environment for those who don't want to jump ship yet and dip their toes in the LXQt interface.
But, for those who can't wait any longer to use LXQt in their new Lubuntu 17.10 installations, we'd like to inform them today about the default apps that will be available in the live, installable medium. Some of the apps listed below might not land in Lubuntu Next, but they are the best choices so far.
Qupzilla is default web browser, VLC could be the default media player
From the looks of it, Lubuntu Next 17.10 will be shipping with Qupzilla as default web browser, VLC as default media player (Kubuntu 17.10 also switched to use VLC by default), QTerminal as terminal emulator, PCManFM-Qt file manager, SDDM login screen (also used by Kubuntu), and Muon as graphical package manager.
Other default apps that might be pre-installed in Lubuntu Next 17.10 are the LibreOffice office suite, Audacious audio player, qpdfview PDF document viewer, LXImage-Qt image viewer, xscreensaver lock screen application, JuffEd text editor, qps task manager, dhcpcd-ui network manager, and the 2048 game.
Openbox appears to be the best choice for the default window manager in Lubuntu Next 17.10, but it looks like the team still needs suggestions for archive management and instant messaging apps that are based on Qt, so if you think of any don't hesitate to drop a comment below and help the devs build the perfect Lubuntu OS with LXQt.
"A goal of mine is to see a lot of these decided on by Alpha 2 (July 27th), and all of them decided on by Beta 1 (August 31st) so we can work on documentation and polishing," says Simon Quigley in the mailing list announcement. "I think these are achievable goals, given that we can change any of these applications in the future if we need to."
At the moment of writing, Lubuntu Next 17.10 Alpha 1 images are available for download from our website if you want to take them for a test drive on your personal computer and if you want to report bugs, but a more polished version should be ready later this month on July 27, or the first Beta, which will hit the streets later this summer on August 31, 2017.
