“The most feature rich Linux Lite release to date”

Apr 23, 2020 04:24 GMT  ·  By

Linux Lite 5.0 RC1 has just been officially released as “the most feature rich, complete Linux Lite release to date,” and you can download it right now for testing.

And truth be told, the changelog is massive, bringing so many improvements in key areas of the operating system.

And it all starts with UEFI, which is now officially supported by Linux Lite. The developing team recommends users to disable SecureBoot, explaining that despite everything working correctly, “it’s just a hassle to have it enabled.”

The new release is based on Ubuntu 20.04 and also introduces a new Updater notifier, new logout options, and a new default wallpaper location. There are obviously new wallpapers as well, as well as more minor changes, like a language choice included on the login screen.

Software changes

As far as the software that comes pre-loaded, there are three big changes, as the team announces:

  • Pinta is gone (not being actively maintained)
  • Zim replaces unsupported CherryTree as the note taker of choice.
  • Chrome is in, Chromium is now a Snap package and we are not going to add an entire Service for just 1 out of 2,000+ packages.

Obviously, the pre-loaded apps have also been updated to the latest versions, so Linux Lite 5.0 RC1 comes with Firefox 75, VLC 3.0.9, and Thunderbird 68.7.0.

Further information on the changes happening under the hood will also be shared closer to the final release date.

There are also a few known issues, which is nothing surprising given this is a release candidate, but they should all be fixed before the final build gets the go-ahead. For example, the release notes aren’t working on the first installer, and the Grub menu actually shows Linux Lite as Ubuntu. You can, of course, fix this on your own after installing Linux Lite on the device.