Fast and Light AntiX 8.0 is Released!

Fast and Light AntiX 8.0 is Released!

The excellent family of easy to use desktop systems from MEPIS has a new product announcement today, and it is an exciting one. The Fast, Light, Flexible AntiX M8.0 has been released today. I wrote about it at http://usalug.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14090
There is an announcement about it at http://antix.freeforums.org/antix-m8-goes-final-t1411.html

I also wrote to DistroWatch to let them know about it, and wrote to their comments page.

Why do I like AntiX so much? Well, it is very easy to install. It uses the same installation program as SimplyMEPIS, which means that you can first try it out as a Live CD to see if it works for you. It is lighter than SimplyMEPIS, which means that it loads even faster than SimplyMEPIS, so it makes a great Live CD to carry around.

You can install it to a small USB device and carry it around with you. If you want, there are tools available to create your own custom, remastered version. There are the excellent smxi family of tools that originally come from the Kanotix and sidux projects. There are excellent tools from the SimplyMEPIS and Absolute Linux projects as well.

All of this is not just thrown together, it is crafted into a nicely integrated set of packages that complement one another very well. The art work is very good and comes from a community of very talented artists. The localization work comes directly from the AntiX community. This is truly a collaborative work. It functions amazingly well. It is smaller than the usual full, often bloated versions of software available elsewhere, and it works exceedingly well - fast and functional. I highly recommend it!

Still sticking with sidux in 2009!

The sidux site often shows reviews of their software, and I never mind it when they point to one of my blog entries, which often extol the virtues of using sidux. There has not been a new sidux release in Q1 2009 yet, but that does not stop me from continuing to use sidux every day and writing enthusiastic reviews about it. At the USALUG http://usalug.org/phpBB2/index.php where I hang around a lot, they know my opinions about Debian software in general and sidux in particular - that sidux is an awesome distribution that really tames the frequently out of control Debian Sid beast, turning it from a cutting edge, but sometimes bleeding distribution into a razor sharp, "smooth shave" that leaves your face feeling smooth and your system running equally smoothly.

The "Cool Yule" edition of sidux 2008-04 was simply the latest in the line of sidux releases, which come out on approximately a quarterly basis. There really is no need to constantly grab the ISO images - you can get one and stick with it for a couple of years. On one of my older, once stable laptop systems, I did just that, installing the 2007-04.5 "Christmas Edition" of sidux, and I simply updated it periodically, sometimes choosing to grab newer themes from the sidux repositories without having to go through the hassle of reinstalling and reconfiguring everything over and over again.

At the same time, I enjoy testing, so I also typically grab each new version and install it on at least one of my systems. The Gateway PA6A laptop that I am using now has the latest version, sidux 2008-04, and it is running so smoothly that it is easy to forget that this is quite a volatile, ever changing system. That fact never disturbs this system one bit. I can update daily, if I want, or I can go a week or a month without updating. I tend to prefer keeping things as current as I can. On most other systems, that can cause certain things to break, at least for a while, and in a few cases, it can break the system entirely. NEVER with sidux! I have been using sidux since the middle of 2007 on a regular basis, and I've been using sidux instances as my main desktop system since late 2007. While there is always the possibility of a problem emerging in any system, especially one that frequently changes, my personal experience has been perfect with sidux, despite constant change.

I can think of other systems (Debian based ones in particular) that offer me similar stability, but I have not encountered any other system of any type that offers me both the latest software coupled with an excellent working environment that I can count on, and that is why sidux continues to be my favorite cutting edge desktop system.