You forgot the NUMBER ONE most unique and useful thing in MX. You can quickly and easily create a complete USB stick that ia a 100% copy of YOUR entire system, just as you use it, which is completely portable and bootable on any pc. You can take that stick and use it at work or a friends computer etc. I have found it to be a PERFECT backup. Its called MX snapshot.
@@leemanwrong its great for recovery and maintenance also. I actually run mint as a daily driver, but I ALWAYS keep an MX distro on my system .....just for recovery tools.
Thanks John! I'm with you- I just started using Mint about a month ago and stumbled upon a youtube MX intro (IT GUY) and wow! I literally was just starting to feeling comfortable in Mint and my desktop setup is super bling however- the "right click" and other functions, the look etc .. . we shall see. Appreciate you
Nice vid. I like XFCE as a desktop, it's very lightweight, works great on older hardware, and you can configure everything in the desktop to a really granular level. Within 30 mins the stock DE can be made to look like anything from Windows 95 to the latest Mac OS just by adding a few icon packs and theme packs and making some css changes. Plank is really good if you like using a Mac like dock. You can even switch out the window manager to something like i3 and get it to do tiling.
MX Linux XFCE is the one I use at work & is the one who runs the best on my HP ProBook 655 G1 Laptop, MX Linux is also very good for beginners, cheers!
i just installed mx linux on a packard bell desktop from 2008 or so. needed to use the failsave in order to get to the demo and installer. but now that it's installed, it actually runs okay if used just for browing the web.
Very good tip that I can recommend to other new users. I'm an oldie and I prefer the dpkg-based distros. Xfce is memory parsimonious yet extremely configurable, so the configuration advantages you refer to is xfce. I prefer recommending Xubuntu or Linux Mint, but the user manual is a clear plus. Also I formerly used Debian, but also I dislike their installation setup, they have made root actions inacessible from a user account terminal, and that's not user freedom. And I used Linux since the late 1990:ies, starting with Slackware then turning to Debian.
I kind of felt the same way about the beauty of PCLinuxOS, but at the end of the day, Linux Mint is so much easier over all with Warpinator already installed and such. But I did like the easier control of the clipboard PCLinuxOS gave. Good video without being pushy. Great job.
@@johnishappy yep that what PCLinuxOS has, KDE and Dolphin. Another thing, when I am doing my main back up with Nemo, (I do my own backups), I have to first delete my target drive before I copy because I can't get Nemo to over write files/directories on a large number scale, only I can over write when I copy a few.. When I was in Windows and told it to overwrite all it always did. I don't know if Dolphin would fix this or not. I never tried it yet. I did see a video where KDE could be easily installed in Mint but I have not tried this either.
Debian non-free uses Calamares installer. Very easy to use. Just follow all the steps, reboot, done. The best of MX is the MX package installer. One click on what you want, done. No messing around in the terminal. So ideal for a beginner.
I am using MX Linux from MX 17, MX 19, MX 21. It used to use ram arround 500 mb before, now MX 23 using ram arround 950 mb ram, getting heavier, but they look almost same just few cosmetic changes. Performance was very stable like rock solid reliable
After watching this review I downloaded the ISO for MX Linux XFCE and installed it on to a 10 year old computer with 16Gb of ram I use for testing. Everything work fine (sound, video, networking, secondary internal drives got mounted). No fuss, no muss. It really is a great distribution. 👍 At the desktop (MEM 6%, CPU 1%), playing an MP4 file (MEM 7%, CPU 22%)
I don't think I'm dropping Zorin any time soon. I run it in my backup laptop so I have my files, emails, photos, work related stuff and all my daily computing routine in there. I would have to start all over again if I install something different. I did had some issues with Zorin. Evolution stopped connecting with my service and I couldn't find a solution for it. One of the solutions offered in one of the forums was to try Thunderbird, so I have installed it instead of Evolution. I also had an issue with the menu. I haven't been able to organize the menu to my liking. I haven't found a solution yet. Finally I had software installed that would not show any details in the software store and I had to deal with the issue using the terminal. Despite all of these problems I still like Zorin.
I've tried Zorin and it's good too but MX Linux feels much better for me after using it for a while. I suggest you just try MX Linux live USB and play with it. See if your fav apps will work with it. Being based on Debian, it should. I use the KDE Plasma version and it's perfect for me. I've tweaked mine a lot though and it looks nowhere near the vanilla MX Linux but functions just as good. Perhaps even better now since I tailored it to how I work on the desktop. 👍
Several years ago I was given an Acer laptop from 2008. It has only 2 giga ram wired in. But I installed Mx Linux Xfce without problem and am now upgraded to 19. It is end-of-life, no upgrade possible. So I'll have to clean install 23 and hope it will work, I expect it will. It was good for experimenting and pushing dumb things I knew nothing about and didn't crash it. Flux works but annoys me and avoid system D. You have a cautious approach, but should not be afraid to try different things.
I suspect I'm going to switch from Kubuntu 24.04 to MX Linux KDE! I always seem to have issues on the most recent *buntu releases, plus issues during upgrades. MX Linux appeals as it is on a nice stable Debian 12 Base, which is ideal for a system used for photo / image / audio editing. 6 monthly updates of *buntu releases are bothersome!
The big trouble with *buntu is adding outside repositories which create conflicts. As much as I liked *Buntu I think i like MX better. I am running MX on an Imac with Mac removed.
i used mx for about 3 months ran really smooth and really good still have it on flash drive but went back to LMDE on my main machine but its a reall good running linux distro
I accidentally came across MX-Linux the other day and installed it on my VM on Mac. It was nice. However, when I wanted to run neovim, it suggested "sudo apt install". When I tried that it installed an old version of neovim. Often it did not have other packages, so I had to download binaries or deb files and hand install those. That was quite disappointing as I really liked how MX looked.
@@johnishappy MX Linux saved my 2005 Acer Aspire 1690 32 Bit notebook, where even Linux Mint Debian Edition and debian Bookworm had failed. For me it is a distro promoted with full honors! 😉👍
I tried the latest MXlinux and I love it but lately my nvidia is no loading when I install MXlinux and xfce is so archaic that its doesn't scale in my big screen. XFCE is very *OLD* to use. Perhaps will try it when KDE 6.0 launches but right now ubuntu is my daily driver
@@johnishappy Their latest update was in 2022. If they just add a few bells and whistles like fractional scaling and better UI they can easily become flagship level. Hoping for their next update
Unfortunately NVIDIA products are essentially garbage when it comes to working with Linux nicely or at all. Hence all the $100 Thinkpads on eBay that can smoke a new Macbook
sometimes i think, cc-ppl on yt, dont realy see the Potential of MX! For me, the most underrated MX-Tool is the Live-USB-Maker! A outstanding Tool, noone knows and talks about. maybe the Name sounds a bit clumbsy?! but, thx for the video! like and follow!
@@johnishappy your LinuxLite vlog shows the Problem. The USB-Image-Writer isnt same like MX-USB-Writer. MX has it own way to do this. MX creates an Iso-File with all the Apps u like or u needet for your daily work. With brave-browser, but without chrome-browser and so on MX gives u much more Possibilities! feels like a owne personalized Linux iso try it to understand the idea behind.
Is it not just stock XFCE that it uses? I always found that failrly easy to theme, you can configure a lot in it and make it look fairly modern. Never used MX though so maybe it has something annoying that prevents you tweaking it too much.
@@hlashflahflhsjfh Not sure. But whenever I've tried to make it look half way decent it always breaks. I'm not sure why they don't at least spend 10 mins with it before release to make it look even somewhat appealing.
Oh, you don't know how to theme XFCE so that's why you're in every other comment saying negative things about MX. That's not MX Linux, the issue exists between the chair and the computer
I've tried MX before and generally liked it. But there must have been a reason I didn't continue with it (maybe it was the desktop environment, glitches, file manager connecting to servers - I can't remember). But they also have a KDE version now which I was keen to have a go at when I get a chance.
Is this true? Isn't apt upgrading everything? When upgrading the kernel and apps you should have a new system? I really like mx linux. I used arch and updating some apps leads to a total system crash so I prefer a stable system over the latest packages.
You forgot the NUMBER ONE most unique and useful thing in MX. You can quickly and easily create a complete USB stick that ia a 100% copy of YOUR entire system, just as you use it, which is completely portable and bootable on any pc. You can take that stick and use it at work or a friends computer etc. I have found it to be a PERFECT backup. Its called MX snapshot.
I'm going to do another mx video, I'll talk about that. There's more to say in general about mx.
Yep this is the reason i use it too. I can travel light and carry my system in my pocket..
@@leemanwrong its great for recovery and maintenance also. I actually run mint as a daily driver, but I ALWAYS keep an MX distro on my system .....just for recovery tools.
yeah and just learning of this seals the deal for me :}
I just installed mx23.3_rpi_respin on Raspberry Pi 5 and I can't locate MX Snapshot in MX Tools. Can anyone suggest a solution?
Thanks for this, it was good to see Brave was installed without issue. Informative. 🙂
No problem 👍
Thanks John! I'm with you- I just started using Mint about a month ago and stumbled upon a youtube MX intro (IT GUY) and wow! I literally was just starting to feeling comfortable in Mint and my desktop setup is super bling however- the "right click" and other functions, the look etc .. . we shall see. Appreciate you
Great to hear!
Nice vid.
I like XFCE as a desktop, it's very lightweight, works great on older hardware, and you can configure everything in the desktop to a really granular level. Within 30 mins the stock DE can be made to look like anything from Windows 95 to the latest Mac OS just by adding a few icon packs and theme packs and making some css changes. Plank is really good if you like using a Mac like dock. You can even switch out the window manager to something like i3 and get it to do tiling.
Thanks for the good information!
Thanks so much for this. Is normal Linux users who just want to get things done appreciate people like you.
You're welcome! I'm just trying to be helpful.
MX Linux XFCE is the one I use at work & is the one who runs the best on my HP ProBook 655 G1 Laptop, MX Linux is also very good for beginners, cheers!
Great video for us Linux newbs. I would like to try MX but in Plasma environment.
They have that available!
I know you like plasma, are you going to try out the plasma version of MX?
I find MX to be a great distro, 2nd to Mint of course.
It is a great distro and yes, I'll try all the variations on those as well.
i just installed mx linux on a packard bell desktop from 2008 or so. needed to use the failsave in order to get to the demo and installer. but now that it's installed, it actually runs okay if used just for browing the web.
Very good tip that I can recommend to other new users. I'm an oldie and I prefer the dpkg-based distros. Xfce is memory parsimonious yet extremely configurable, so the configuration advantages you refer to is xfce. I prefer recommending Xubuntu or Linux Mint, but the user manual is a clear plus. Also I formerly used Debian, but also I dislike their installation setup, they have made root actions inacessible from a user account terminal, and that's not user freedom. And I used Linux since the late 1990:ies, starting with Slackware then turning to Debian.
I had to look up the meaning of 'parsimonious'. Nice usage!
I like MX Linux.
I kind of felt the same way about the beauty of PCLinuxOS, but at the end of the day, Linux Mint is so much easier over all with Warpinator already installed and such. But I did like the easier control of the clipboard PCLinuxOS gave. Good video without being pushy. Great job.
Clipboard control I like to have like in plasma, but using cinnamon I don't get that. Maybe something I missed.
@@johnishappy yep that what PCLinuxOS has, KDE and Dolphin. Another thing, when I am doing my main back up with Nemo, (I do my own backups), I have to first delete my target drive before I copy because I can't get Nemo to over write files/directories on a large number scale, only I can over write when I copy a few.. When I was in Windows and told it to overwrite all it always did. I don't know if Dolphin would fix this or not. I never tried it yet. I did see a video where KDE could be easily installed in Mint but I have not tried this either.
Way better than warpenator is LocalSend
Debian non-free uses Calamares installer. Very easy to use. Just follow all the steps, reboot, done. The best of MX is the MX package installer. One click on what you want, done. No messing around in the terminal. So ideal for a beginner.
It is a well thought out distro, lots of things I like about it.
MX Linux stopped my distro hopping. 👍
I really like it too for so many reasons.
I am using MX Linux from MX 17, MX 19, MX 21. It used to use ram arround 500 mb before, now MX 23 using ram arround 950 mb ram, getting heavier, but they look almost same just few cosmetic changes. Performance was very stable like rock solid reliable
MX's take on xfce is excellent.
Sure is.
After watching this review I downloaded the ISO for MX Linux XFCE and installed it on to a 10 year old computer with 16Gb of ram I use for testing. Everything work fine (sound, video, networking, secondary internal drives got mounted). No fuss, no muss. It really is a great distribution. 👍 At the desktop (MEM 6%, CPU 1%), playing an MP4 file (MEM 7%, CPU 22%)
So cool, welcome!
I've been tempted to try MX Linux. It does look clean and organized. I may be dropping Zorin out of my back up laptop.
MX really is nice and is based right off Debian 12 bookworm.
Zorin 17 is very good distro i don't know if is worth droping it for MX
I don't think I'm dropping Zorin any time soon. I run it in my backup laptop so I have my files, emails, photos, work related stuff and all my daily computing routine in there. I would have to start all over again if I install something different. I did had some issues with Zorin. Evolution stopped connecting with my service and I couldn't find a solution for it. One of the solutions offered in one of the forums was to try Thunderbird, so I have installed it instead of Evolution. I also had an issue with the menu. I haven't been able to organize the menu to my liking. I haven't found a solution yet. Finally I had software installed that would not show any details in the software store and I had to deal with the issue using the terminal. Despite all of these problems I still like Zorin.
I've tried Zorin and it's good too but MX Linux feels much better for me after using it for a while.
I suggest you just try MX Linux live USB and play with it. See if your fav apps will work with it. Being based on Debian, it should. I use the KDE Plasma version and it's perfect for me. I've tweaked mine a lot though and it looks nowhere near the vanilla MX Linux but functions just as good. Perhaps even better now since I tailored it to how I work on the desktop. 👍
I run MX XFCE on a 16 year old laptop that works really good. I have a triple boot with Win 10, Mint and MX. MX runs the best on the machine.
Good stuff! 16 years old! Wow.
Several years ago I was given an Acer laptop from 2008. It has only 2 giga ram wired in. But I installed Mx Linux Xfce without problem and am now upgraded to 19. It is end-of-life, no upgrade possible. So I'll have to clean install 23 and hope it will work, I expect it will.
It was good for experimenting and pushing dumb things I knew nothing about and didn't crash it. Flux works but annoys me and avoid system D. You have a cautious approach, but should not be afraid to try different things.
So, its Debian with an Xfce DE with a few tools i wont be using and a panel stuck on the left side of the screen which i will pull down anyway
great video john thanks buddy
Thanks 👍
I suspect I'm going to switch from Kubuntu 24.04 to MX Linux KDE! I always seem to have issues on the most recent *buntu releases, plus issues during upgrades. MX Linux appeals as it is on a nice stable Debian 12 Base, which is ideal for a system used for photo / image / audio editing. 6 monthly updates of *buntu releases are bothersome!
Am thinking the same
The big trouble with *buntu is adding outside repositories which create conflicts. As much as I liked *Buntu I think i like MX better. I am running MX on an Imac with Mac removed.
As a follow-up I ended up going with Linux Mint Debian Edition. It's still based on Debian 12, but has none of the Ubuntu bloat.
I use MX with vanilla Gnome which is basically Debian with MX Tools. I think it's the perfect desktop if you don't need bleeding edge packages.
i used mx for about 3 months ran really smooth and really good still have it on flash drive but went back to LMDE on my main machine but its a reall good running linux distro
I'm going to do Mint LMDE too.
Interesting. Reasons? (LMDE user)
I use both MX Linux and Linux Mint both on their own ssd's and can't fault either of them.
I like them both for different reasons. They both run really well.
I accidentally came across MX-Linux the other day and installed it on my VM on Mac. It was nice. However, when I wanted to run neovim, it suggested "sudo apt install". When I tried that it installed an old version of neovim. Often it did not have other packages, so I had to download binaries or deb files and hand install those. That was quite disappointing as I really liked how MX looked.
You should now compare this on that computer to MX KDE DESKTOP version, to show speed and a little bling…
I did try that but it didn't work very well for me, I was having some problems with video.
Great distro for old notebook 32 Bit. 😉
It really is nice, for older machines but not just older machines!
@@johnishappy MX Linux saved my 2005 Acer Aspire 1690 32 Bit notebook, where even Linux Mint Debian Edition and debian Bookworm had failed. For me it is a distro promoted with full honors! 😉👍
I tried the latest MXlinux and I love it but lately my nvidia is no loading when I install MXlinux and xfce is so archaic that its doesn't scale in my big screen. XFCE is very *OLD* to use. Perhaps will try it when KDE 6.0 launches but right now ubuntu is my daily driver
XFCE is the older style desktop, but they have juiced it some so it's more like a modern desktop. I do like it's simplicity.
@@johnishappy Their latest update was in 2022. If they just add a few bells and whistles like fractional scaling and better UI they can easily become flagship level. Hoping for their next update
Unfortunately NVIDIA products are essentially garbage when it comes to working with Linux nicely or at all. Hence all the $100 Thinkpads on eBay that can smoke a new Macbook
***that can smoke a new Macbook with Windows 7-10 installed
Agreed re Debian install. I'll compare MX XFCE vs Plasma. Will be interesting
Using LMDE. Have some wifi issues. Seems slow...
I really like certain things from various distros.
sometimes i think, cc-ppl on yt, dont realy see the Potential of MX! For me, the most underrated MX-Tool is the Live-USB-Maker!
A outstanding Tool, noone knows and talks about. maybe the Name sounds a bit clumbsy?!
but, thx for the video! like and follow!
Thanks so much, I really like MX Linux.
@@johnishappy your LinuxLite vlog shows the Problem. The USB-Image-Writer isnt same like MX-USB-Writer.
MX has it own way to do this.
MX creates an Iso-File with all the Apps u like or u needet for your daily work.
With brave-browser, but without chrome-browser and so on
MX gives u much more Possibilities!
feels like a owne personalized Linux iso
try it to understand the idea behind.
You should really check out MX Linux KDE. Clean, simple, and still wildly customizable.
I did and it wonked on me some.
@@johnishappy Oh no! How long ago was this though? There was a new release not too long ago for all the versions of MX.
Why CPU is constant 45+% ? Is it old desktop?
10 years old.
The only issue I have with MX is the default UI. Its horrible and it breaks easily when you try to theme it.
I'll check that out, thanks.
Is it not just stock XFCE that it uses? I always found that failrly easy to theme, you can configure a lot in it and make it look fairly modern. Never used MX though so maybe it has something annoying that prevents you tweaking it too much.
@@hlashflahflhsjfh Not sure. But whenever I've tried to make it look half way decent it always breaks. I'm not sure why they don't at least spend 10 mins with it before release to make it look even somewhat appealing.
runwiththedolphin the main developer of MX has his own you tube channel. Maybe he can help you with your theming problems.
Oh, you don't know how to theme XFCE so that's why you're in every other comment saying negative things about MX. That's not MX Linux, the issue exists between the chair and the computer
I've tried MX before and generally liked it. But there must have been a reason I didn't continue with it (maybe it was the desktop environment, glitches, file manager connecting to servers - I can't remember). But they also have a KDE version now which I was keen to have a go at when I get a chance.
Going to try it with both KDE and fluxbox.
MX Linux is great but the only issue it has is that you need to reinstall it if you want to upgrade to the next version that will come out.
Is this true? Isn't apt upgrading everything? When upgrading the kernel and apps you should have a new system? I really like mx linux. I used arch and updating some apps leads to a total system crash so I prefer a stable system over the latest packages.
MX Linux XFCE not enough marketing
It's a great distro for sure.
Worst xfce look ever.