MX Linux Forum

hear why as I really don't see a USB system will be faster/better than an installed system.

faster:

dynamic persistence
(files changed during session are written to RAM, faaaaaast b/c drive I/O is entirely avoided)
(think. Just on example: files written/retrieved from web browser cache)
+
"toram" boot option
(the entire O/S is cached to RAM, avoiding drive I/O disk reads throughout the session)
+
semi-automatic save mode
(can manually perform persist-save at will, repeatedly throughout the session... or NOT)
(you are also asked/prompted to save during shutdown)

_____________________________________

better:

During toram sessions, the boot media can be removed (reattached only if/when performing a persist-save operation)
+
policy: no automount & only root can perform mount operations
(keywords ~~ isolation, lightning strikes, sandboxing, goof-proof, worry-free)

can "dry run" the persist-save rsync operation to conduct forensic studies
(what files have changed during the current session? or, what files have changed since last on-demand persistence waypoint)

my reason are quite simple , to run my preferred OS whenever i travel , and to bypass internet cafe bill if i go to travel to save some cash . <<< don't follow me

i found it , i can bypass local windows bill management system using live USB , and most internet cafe admin don't even care . but yeah thanks to that i managed to scrape by living frugally until July 7th when my pay-check day and a day living in luxury .

I have a very specific reason to run a live system from a thumb drive (or whatever you'd prefer to name a basic usb boot), namely that my company almost shoves through that all payroll stuff must only exist under an app from either google or else apple. Neither of which greatly appeals.
The only desktop alternative then will run (under FF in extremis, but mostly Win10 only), but it then requires the installation of a designated xpi plugin to function fully. Which is nothing something trivial btw. The eula of said plugin then says that they can and may well access anything and everything about you and even alter any or all perms stuff. No chance of me ever granting quasi root access to a fly-by-night and un-audited comapny app ...on my own main installs. Just cannot risk this. Then live boots are a godsend here.

Not any big deal on a Live boot though, with also pushing it fully into ram (to rack up speeds a lot) and to then operate very crucially with persistent storage.Then the stated plugin method is 99% self-contained. It gets only what it needs and cannot ever impact anything else.Then just label the usb stick correctly and intermittently boot the stick to then interact with HQ.

Other very legitimate reasons are just try-before-you-buy stuff. Install loads of new apps on-the-fly and tweak them all and just experiment to heart's content - and the very next boot all is back to normal here. You could also beta test a new MX release as well, by stress-testing it a lot. Not the same as an actual install, but very many features can be tested out here. Another option, if you do travel a lot, is to decide if you want to make any purchases on some random desktop or laptop that you might come across. Not really, I would think.
Of course, nowadays not so especially relevant anymore with the rise-and-rise of smartphones, but there are still some marginal use cases to be thought of where carrying *nix-on-stick can come in very useful indeed, even if only as a fallback option. Rescue mode, fail-safe mode, full-on encryption and to keep many files with you at all times.

I may be wrong but isn't running live w/o persistence a reasonable way to visit sketchy web sites?

I don't know how data is managed with a live thumb drive system, but that was my first thought too. If someone wanted to surf sites with questionable content then I would think that a system running in ram that left no trace on internal drive would be desirable. I've read about a distro called Tails that runs from thumb drive for this very reason; anonymity.

I might be missing something here, but isn't obvious?
I myself run it so I can have an MX install on the fly, for example at a friend's house.
Who wouldn't want their favorite distro anywhere and anytime?

good point. I've often used it for rescue operations.

and at summer camp this year my kid needed to right a short essay for his environmental science merit badge. Out came my antiX live USB so we could have the libreoffice-writer for the task, as the camp didn't have internet access for his usual choice of google-docs.