Earlier I mentioned that the antiX distribution had two releases in development, antiX 19.4 and antiX 21. The first of these has packages from the Debian 10 "Buster" release, which is mature and has many final release updates.
Because of this, antiX 19.4 development completed and antiX 19.4 was released on May 22, 2021.
DistroWatch.com has an article containing the announcement and release details at Distribution Release: antiX 19.4
antiX 19.4 and antiX 21 are currently test releases. The antiX 19.4 test is an incremental update to antiX 19.3. I do not expect that it will need a lot of work and testing. There are just a few things that need fixing; several of them have already been fixed.
The antiX 21 effort, on the other hand, also depends on quite a bit of reworked infrastructure involving major updates to the next Debian release, and also to the fact that the current Gtk release is updating to Gtk+ 3. The additional switch to Python 3 also takes a lot of rework, so this is a bit more of a work in progress. Nevertheless, something that is not new to antiX is that whenever there is a new test release, quite a bit actually works long before everything is perfect, so these are outstanding examples of solid systems. As good as they are, they'd be even better with more testing and testers to do the testing.
antiX has the capability to generate snapshot images and also has the ability to remaster an image.
You may either install these images to a hard drive or you can write them to a removable USB drive.
Sometimes I do both. My current images have been BOTH remastered AND snapshots have been created.
What's cool about these images is that they can serve as a backup for whatever you've done, especially when you create a USB copy.
There are also multiple ways to create them: you can save your entire working environment, including your personal files. This is good for the backup capability. Alternatively you can specify which directories to omit, or you can build only a "general" system version, plus combine snapshot and remastered images by repeatedly building copies as your system is changed.
This is the most flexible and practical way I've seen to combine backup and portable, movable images. Both antiX and MX Linux have similar capabilities, but antiX does more with the light snapshot and remastered images.
I'm here with a "rescue image" of Sparky Linux.
It didn't come with much, but since it is Debian-based, I ran an apt update, then an apt full-upgrade to bring the available packages up to date, then, to see what else I could get, I ran apt install firefox chromium and fortunately, both of them were available, so now I am here with Firefox 86.0.1 (32-bit). Most of the time I grab the 64-bit instance, but this is a 686 image, so it captured the 32-bit image, even though I have a 64-bit Dell Inspiron 5558 laptop.
Google's Chrome OS isn't available for consumers to install, so I went with the next best thing, Neverware's CloudReady Chromium OS. It looks and feels nearly identical to Chrome OS, but can be installed on just about any laptop or desktop, Windows or Mac. And, although Neverware has paid versions for enterprise and education users, its Home Edition is free for personal use.
Complete article on CNET @ https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-turn-your-old-slow-laptop-into-an-awesome-chromebook-for-your-kids/
Not just for kids; I got this working nicely on an old Lenovo Thinkpad X201.
I downloaded and installed an early testing image using antiX with a new image that utilizes Debian's Bullseye Alpha.
I also downloaded the Debian Alpha 3 build and installed it. The antiX one was super easy. The one I got from Debian was fine too, much bigger in size, took a while to copy, load, and install. It also took me three attempts because the first two builds did not include the "non-free" wireless firmware that most distributions include. I was careful to look for the "non-free" Debian 64-bit builds; then I was successful; I never have those problems when I install antiX or MX Linux, and I usually don't have problems when I get the right Debian images; guess it's been a while and I'm getting "rusty" at remembering the details; I guess it is because I run these things for a couple of years and sometimes forget the details needed to get it right the first time! Anyway, both Debian and antiX have at least one new build based off an early "Alpha" testing phase and the good news is that they both work fine.
On Sunday, November 22, 2020 I ordered an Acer Chromebook 715 after months of reviewing various Chromebook models, prices, and reviews.
The model I ordered was the
At the time I ordered, the sale price was $349. The lowest price I've seen was briefly $329 and the current price now has risen to $479.99, the highest price I've seen for this model since my research began.
In the reviews at https://chromeunboxed.com/reviews/ this system has received positive reviews as a good system, and at the lower prices one of the best values in the $300-500 price range.
