Suggestions for Future Versions
Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:32 pm
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am not a "computer geek,' just an ordinary computer user who, having found MX Linux a year or so ago, has been using it on some of my computers (my wife and I have quite a few computers as these things tend to accumulate).
Unfortunately we cannot use it on all of our computers as two of them (our newest, fastest, and most capable) are equipped with UEFI and Secure Boot, both of which I cannot, for one reason or another, disable.
I have written before about this and I received a reply that the developers were examining the situation.
Has there been any progress along the line of making MX Linux compatible with UEFI and Secure Boot?
I assume that there is some monetary cost involved; have you considered a "crowd-funding" arrangement to see if the necessary funds could be raised? If the amount needed were not too much, I should certainly be able to make a small contribution.
Probably some of you would be able to easily install MX Linux on these computers (they are gaming computers, one as Asus and one an Aliewnware, both of which I got new for no charge [it's a long story]) but, try as I might (and I have tried many times), I have had no luck so on these computers I use the GeckoLinux OS (a fork of openSUSE). I like that OS a lot too but not as much as MX Linux.
I do hope that there will be some movement along the line of making MX Linux compatible with UEFI and Secure Boot. (After all, it won't be too long before today's computers, which all have UEFI and Secure Boot, will be "older models" as well!)
I have another suggestion. When MX Linux 16.1 was introduced, it was easy to upgrade the OS from MX-16 to MX-16.1. It was done automatically. But when MX-17 was introduced, it was said that this was not possible because the new repositories were based on the new Debian 9.
I suppose I can assume that when Debian 10 is introduced, the same thing will happen. Even though we can keep our /home intact, it is quite a chore for me to reinstall the entire system, adding the programs I use, and adjusting the desktop to my liking.
Now I may be naive (and as I mentioned, I am not a "computer geek'), but it seems to me that if a new version of Debian is introduced, it might be possible for the developers to find a way to install the new repositories based on the new Debian and then disable the old repositories. This would then turn MX Linux into a quasi-rolling-release type of OS and would be much more convenient for users.
I hope that this suggestion can be considered.
Finally, I have one last suggestion. Frankly I am not enamored with the MX Linux installer, especially the need (sometimes) to use GParted. Having used several different installation programs, I have found the Calamares installation program to be the best and most flexible one I have used. Adjusting and configuring partitions is far easier and more straightforward with Calamares than it is with the current MX Linux installer, GParted being very confusing to me and really quite inflexible. I truly hope that you will consider the use of the Calamares installer in any future MX-Linux operating system version. I think that this would be welcomed by many ordinary computer users such as myself.
All in all, I have found MX Linux to be the very best GNU/Linux operating system I have ever tried (and I have tried about a dozen distributions over the 10 years that my wife and I have been using Linux) and I think that if my suggestions were implemented, this would make MX Linux even better than it is today.
Thank you very much for reading this and for considering my opinions.
Respectfully,
Lawrence H. Bulk
I am not a "computer geek,' just an ordinary computer user who, having found MX Linux a year or so ago, has been using it on some of my computers (my wife and I have quite a few computers as these things tend to accumulate).
Unfortunately we cannot use it on all of our computers as two of them (our newest, fastest, and most capable) are equipped with UEFI and Secure Boot, both of which I cannot, for one reason or another, disable.
I have written before about this and I received a reply that the developers were examining the situation.
Has there been any progress along the line of making MX Linux compatible with UEFI and Secure Boot?
I assume that there is some monetary cost involved; have you considered a "crowd-funding" arrangement to see if the necessary funds could be raised? If the amount needed were not too much, I should certainly be able to make a small contribution.
Probably some of you would be able to easily install MX Linux on these computers (they are gaming computers, one as Asus and one an Aliewnware, both of which I got new for no charge [it's a long story]) but, try as I might (and I have tried many times), I have had no luck so on these computers I use the GeckoLinux OS (a fork of openSUSE). I like that OS a lot too but not as much as MX Linux.
I do hope that there will be some movement along the line of making MX Linux compatible with UEFI and Secure Boot. (After all, it won't be too long before today's computers, which all have UEFI and Secure Boot, will be "older models" as well!)
I have another suggestion. When MX Linux 16.1 was introduced, it was easy to upgrade the OS from MX-16 to MX-16.1. It was done automatically. But when MX-17 was introduced, it was said that this was not possible because the new repositories were based on the new Debian 9.
I suppose I can assume that when Debian 10 is introduced, the same thing will happen. Even though we can keep our /home intact, it is quite a chore for me to reinstall the entire system, adding the programs I use, and adjusting the desktop to my liking.
Now I may be naive (and as I mentioned, I am not a "computer geek'), but it seems to me that if a new version of Debian is introduced, it might be possible for the developers to find a way to install the new repositories based on the new Debian and then disable the old repositories. This would then turn MX Linux into a quasi-rolling-release type of OS and would be much more convenient for users.
I hope that this suggestion can be considered.
Finally, I have one last suggestion. Frankly I am not enamored with the MX Linux installer, especially the need (sometimes) to use GParted. Having used several different installation programs, I have found the Calamares installation program to be the best and most flexible one I have used. Adjusting and configuring partitions is far easier and more straightforward with Calamares than it is with the current MX Linux installer, GParted being very confusing to me and really quite inflexible. I truly hope that you will consider the use of the Calamares installer in any future MX-Linux operating system version. I think that this would be welcomed by many ordinary computer users such as myself.
All in all, I have found MX Linux to be the very best GNU/Linux operating system I have ever tried (and I have tried about a dozen distributions over the 10 years that my wife and I have been using Linux) and I think that if my suggestions were implemented, this would make MX Linux even better than it is today.
Thank you very much for reading this and for considering my opinions.
Respectfully,
Lawrence H. Bulk