MX Linux Forum

As I have said before, I have long marveled at other distros' designers evidently not caring to adapt the MX installer for their distro. Our installer is frankly easier and faster than Calamares. But so is our remastering/snapshot-making application: it's easier than Refracta, the only other such application I know in the Debian family. (Used by Devuan and its derivative Peppermint.)

But for that matter, I wonder why there aren't any MX-based distros (that I know of). Thinking out loud, I guess. Unlike with Ubuntu, which has forks and modified versions ad nauseum, nobody in the Linux world has been interested in forking MX. Strange.

On the other hand, perhaps MX hits users' sweet spot: they're so satisfied with it that they have no interest in forking it. Eh?

lonesomepoint wrote: Mon Mar 17, 2025 8:23 am Our installer is frankly easier and faster than Calamares.

But for that matter, I wonder why there aren't any MX-based distros (that I know of).

Damn Small Linux has adopted gazelle-installer. I noticed it out of the corner of my eye in an Action Retro video this weekend and it pops up quite clearly in this DSL install video from June 2024. Jump to 10:37 to see it for yourself.

There was some discussion here a while ago when someone discovered iDeal OS, an MX respin whose deluxe paid edition cost €59 and included... several free tools you could easily install yourself. Apparently they've since made their special editions available free of charge since then. So they've got that goin' for 'em.

Which is nice.

Kind of related:
Garuda Linux [Arch derivative] adapted a few of MX's tools for their own set of tools, including our Boot Repair and Network assistant [they expanded the latter tool significantly IIRC].

But I haven't used Garuda for maybe 2 years now. I'm not sure what the current state of their tools are, and they were pretty impressive while I was using it.

Hi,

Some of the hesitancy might be UI toolkits. As an example I'm in the middle of working on a hybrid of MX and Bodhi Linux and I am often discussing a lot of what is great about MX with the Bodhi devs because Bodhi is transitioning from Ubuntu to Debian and I think Bodhi would benefit from some MX tools but MX tools are largely Qt (some YAD stuff too). It's not that the Bodhi guys are against Qt but they don't use it at all for their customizations so to adopt the MX stuff means an already overworked small team of people would have to learn a toolkit they are not familiar with. Time being another factor most projects (mine included) are folks working in their spare time and adopting things from another Distro (even great MX things) takes a lot of time and effort. For me to move AV Linux from pure Debian to MX was over a year of work because there are huge amounts of testing and trial and error stuff to be done and I went through learning 2 build systems (Snapshot, then build-iso), a few hours after work most days disappear very quickly with the hundreds of minor details that make a finished ISO.

Lastly pride and ego runs huge in a lot of Linux projects where the developers might take it as an insult to use someone else's idea when they are 'undiscovered geniuses' in their Ivory Towers..

lonesomepoint wrote: Mon Mar 17, 2025 8:23 am ...
On the other hand, perhaps MX hits users' sweet spot: they're so satisfied with it that they have no interest in forking it. Eh?

A distribution like MX (Debian-based) requires a highly collaborative team and highly participatory developers on the forums, so it requires time, energy, and expertise for a small team like MX and antiX. So it's not easy to dethrone teams like that (Debian also indirectly contributes to the success of antiX and MX).

I know antiX isn't considered since it is considered a distro for older gear.
At least DSL for 2024 is based on antiX base and the author gives credit and also calls it alpha distro.
i586 and i386 support is getting rarer. We have a couple of threads on this.

https://www.antixforum.com/forums/topic ... e-no-sse2/

As all can or may see. When Linus T. designed his 1st Kernel in all want only to complete his Assignments via lack and inability for Console Time on the Main Frame to complete homework. then Unix systems - AT&T or Berkley systems unix. With self ability to "Do it Himself" Now Springs to life 200+ so many distro that have all also come to fruit by all thinking Based on, built from, come and go support. And actually in form so many still running today. So much diversity in OS choice has blown the windows off Silicon Germanium substrates. YEAH LINUS (pun directly intended). Even the prolific designs of now Computer Hardware able to support and feature the Minds Eye behind such birth of ones man designed Kernel and associative drive. MX-xyz.iso and MX-xyz-AHS.iso (Advanced Hardware Support) How awesome is that.

and we are now stepping into Quantum worlds. Again by influence of a simple to multi greatness in Mans idea's ( or is it ? ). Great truth As one Great Mind initiates an idea. term shares to prove its value " Four (4) other peoples all could be thinking similar in thought! At the Same Time. how cool is that. Just How cool would it be in diverse Thinking One whom Plays 3D/4D chess inspires to Rejoin one massive divided land mass to returning to an all previous "As designed no borders no division Land Mass and then call it a New Republic. How then would all people unit to become such greater than previous outcome past now. Far More GREAT. but i'm off topic? Simply a thought.

I think, for people who want or need, a full blown distro, MX hits the nail on the head, & with a few customized off shoots, 90% of the needs of others are covered.

Q4OS has MX tools:

https://www.q4os.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3477

AVLinux wrote: Mon Mar 17, 2025 10:19 am Hi,

Some of the hesitancy might be UI toolkits. As an example I'm in the middle of working on a hybrid of MX and Bodhi Linux and I am often discussing a lot of what is great about MX with the Bodhi devs because Bodhi is transitioning from Ubuntu to Debian and I think Bodhi would benefit from some MX tools but MX tools are largely Qt (some YAD stuff too). It's not that the Bodhi guys are against Qt but they don't use it at all for their customizations so to adopt the MX stuff means an already overworked small team of people would have to learn a toolkit they are not familiar with. Time being another factor most projects (mine included) are folks working in their spare time and adopting things from another Distro (even great MX things) takes a lot of time and effort. For me to move AV Linux from pure Debian to MX was over a year of work because there are huge amounts of testing and trial and error stuff to be done and I went through learning 2 build systems (Snapshot, then build-iso), a few hours after work most days disappear very quickly with the hundreds of minor details that make a finished ISO.

Lastly pride and ego runs huge in a lot of Linux projects where the developers might take it as an insult to use someone else's idea when they are 'undiscovered geniuses' in their Ivory Towers..

Thanks, that was highly illuminating,

recent two questions in forum are about others adopting mx tools and what is a studio version of linux?
putting search mxlinux into sourceforge brings the result Pearl linux; the description of Pearl touches on the two questions.

DukeComposed wrote: Mon Mar 17, 2025 9:10 am Damn Small Linux has adopted gazelle-installer. I noticed it out of the corner of my eye in an Action Retro video this weekend and it pops up quite clearly in this DSL install video from June 2024. Jump to 10:37 to see it for yourself.

IIRC this Damn Small Linux release is based on antiX 23.2 Base edition.

FullScale4Me wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 8:23 pm IIRC this Damn Small Linux release is based on antiX 23.2 Base edition.

That's what they tell me. I don't see why a person wouldn't just use antiX.

I've installed some MX goodies onto plain Debian Stable and added the regular MX repo for things like standard (not ESR) firefox and even an updated HP printer driver where the one in Stable is too old for my HP printer hardware.